Bill Text: NJ A1492 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DOT to study ability of each public highway to accommodate additional weight of electric vehicles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [A1492 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A1492-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOT to study ability of each public highway to accommodate additional weight of electric vehicles.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the additional weight of electric vehicles on public highways within the State and supplementing Title 27 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
"Electric vehicle" means a vehicle that derives all or part of its power from electricity, and that has a battery or equivalent energy storage device that can be charged from an electricity supply external to the vehicle with an electric plug. "Electric vehicle" includes a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
"Plug-in hybrid vehicle" means a vehicle that can be charged from a source of electricity external to the vehicle through an electric plug, but is not exclusively powered by electricity.
"Public highways" means public roads, streets, expressways, freeways, parkways, motorways and boulevards, including bridges, in this State.
2. a. No later than six months after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the New Jersey Department of Transportation shall conduct a study on the ability of public highways to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles. The study shall, at a minimum:
(1) examine each public highway to determine if, and for what time period, each public highway is equipped to handle the additional weight of electric vehicles;
(2) provide recommendations to improve the ability of each public highway to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles; and
(3) develop a list of public highways that ranks each public highway from least-to-most able to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles.
b. No later than six months after the completion of the study pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the department shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, containing the study's findings and recommendations, and the list developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section.
c. When considering public highway projects for inclusion in the Annual Transportation Capital Program, as submitted pursuant to section 22 of P.L.1984, c.73 (C.27:1B-22), the department shall prioritize public highway projects that address public highways that are unable to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles, based on the list developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section.
3. As a condition of receiving funding for a public highway project under the Annual Transportation Capital Program, the project sponsor shall certify, before the completion of the project, that the project will enable the public highway to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles.
4. The department may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately, except that section 3 of this act shall remain inoperable until the completion of the study required under subsection a. of section 2 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the New Jersey Department of Transportation (department), within six months of the bill's effective date, to conduct a study on the ability of the public highways of the State to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles.
Under the bill, this study, at a minimum, would: (1) examine each public highway to determine if, and for what time period, each public highway is equipped to handle the additional weight of electric vehicles; (2) provide recommendations to improve the ability of each public highway to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles; and (3) develop a list of public highways that ranks each public highway from least-to-most able to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles.
The bill also requires the department to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature containing the study's findings and recommendations, and the list developed by the department under the study.
When considering public highway projects for inclusion in the Annual Transportation Capital Program, the bill also requires the department to prioritize those projects that would address public highways that are unable to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles. The bill provides that as a condition of receiving funding for a public highway project under the Annual Transportation Capital Program, the project sponsor would be required to certify that the project enables the public highway to accommodate the additional weight of electric vehicles.
