Category: Legislation

The Howard County, Maryland EV-Ready ordinance that passed in 2018 is cited as an example in the recently published Great Plains Institute’s “Summary of Best Practices in Electric Vehicle Ordinances”.

EV-Friendly Zoning Practices

The Howard County legislation (CB76-2018) is recognized as a model to guide other communities in developing EV-friendly zoning ordinances. The bill was sponsored by Jen Terrasa who was my Councilwoman at the time. Terrasa was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018 and is a member of the House Environment and Transportation Committee.

The guide summarizes city ordinances and zoning practices regarding:

• EV charging stations as permitted land use
• EV make-ready standards
• EV supply equipment standards
• EV parking space design and location
• Required EV parking capacity and minimum parking requirements
• EV-designated parking use standards and protections
• Signage, safety, and other standards
• Definition of terms

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Senate Bill S7055 by Anna M. Kaplan

New York State Senator Anna Kaplan has prefiled legislation in Albany to require that new construction projects with more than 50 parking spaces that receive state funding must be capable of supporting electric vehicle charging stations.

The bill as drafted specifies that an electrical supply panel, raceway, and other components would be required to support future EV charging equipment with a capacity of at least 3.1 kW for each charging station.

Senate Bill S7055 is due to be assigned to the Committee on Finance when the 2020 Legislative Session begins on January 8th.

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Hydrogen Fuel Cells, EV Tax Credit & Electric School Bus Bills Advanced

The 90-day Maryland lawmaking session adjourned yesterday at midnight. PlugInSites has been tracking over a dozen electric vehicle related bills in Annapolis since the General Assembly convened in January. Three of them managed to pass both chambers and are headed to Governor Hogan to sign.

The Clean Cars Act of 2019, HB 1246, was a collaboration between Governor Hogan’s Administration and Delegate David Fraser-Hidalgo. It will expand the state’s efforts to support Zero Emission Vehicles to include Hydrogen Fuel Cell cars. The role of Maryland’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC) will begin to include promoting the utilization of fuel cell electric vehicles as well as plug-ins. The council will be renamed the Maryland Zero Emission Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (ZEEVIC).

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Tracking EV-Related Bills in the Maryland General Assembly

Here is a list of bills in the Maryland legislature that we are watching as of 2/21/19.

SB 70 – Vehicle Laws – HOV Lanes – Plug-In Electric Drive and Hybrid Vehicles

SB 78 – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Excise Tax Credit – Sunset – Repeal

SB 168 / HB 151 – Clean Cars Act of 2019

SB 316 – Vehicle Laws – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicles – Reserved Parking Spaces

SB 822 – Real Property – Installation and Use of Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment

SB 987 – Public Safety – Building Codes – Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

SB 998 – Public Service Commission – Electric Vehicle Infrastructure – Prior Authorization

HB 72 – Extension of Electric Vehicle Incentives Act

HB 826 – Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment for Multi–Family Units Act

HB 1180 – Maryland Energy Administration – Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Rebate Program

HB 1246 – Plug–In Electric Drive Vehicle Excise Tax Credit

HB 1255 – School Bus Purchasing – Zero-Emission Vehicle – Requirement

HB 1331 – Public Utilities – Electric Vehicle Charging Station Infrastructure – Task Force

Electric Vehicle Legislation Tracker – 2019

Follow the latest developments at the PlugInSites Electric Vehicle Legislation Tracker.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has requested the Clean Cars Act of 2019 which proposes to increase the annual funding and expand the electric vehicle excise tax credit for electric vehicles to include the purchase of fuel cell electric vehicles. Funding would increase from $3,000,000 to $6,000,000 through fiscal year 2020.

As part of the proposal, Governor Hogan wants to alter the role and reconfigure the membership of the Maryland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC) to additionally promote fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The EVIC, created by legislation in 2011, is tasked with helping to increase the number of plug-in electric vehicles registered in the state and to increase the size of the publicly available EV charging network in order to help the state reach its clean air and greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The Clean Cars Act of 2019 (SB168 & HB151) would rename the EVIC to the Maryland Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Council. Three new members would be appointed by the Governor including representatives of manufacturers of fuel cell electric vehicle infrastructure equipment, manufacturers of fuel cell electric vehicles and a representative of the business community in the state.

Two current members would be removed, the representative of the Baltimore Electric Vehicle Initiative (BEVI) and one of the two representatives of electric companies. Pepco and BGE are both currently on the Council.
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Some Maryland EV Buyers Didn’t Get State Tax Credit in 2017

Relief may finally be coming for Maryland Electric Vehicle drivers who missed out on the State Tax Rebate program when funding ran out before the end of fiscal year 2017 which ended on 6/30/2017.

A bill sponsored by Maryland Delegate Marc Korman, who represents District 16 in Montgomery County, proposes to retroactively give rebates to individuals who purchased a plug in electric vehicle in fiscal year 2017 but did not receive a state rebate after the program ran out of funds.

Maryland HB 72, the Extension of Electric Vehicle Incentives Act, would also provide rebates to certain individuals who did not receive a qualified rebate under the Fiscal Year 2017 Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Rebate Program after that program also ran out of funds.

Delegate Korman’s bill would authorize an applicant to receive a refund of excise tax imposed for a qualified plug–in electric vehicle if the vehicle was purchased new and titled for the first time on or after July 1, 2016, but before July 1, 2017 if the applicant is the vehicle’s original owner and owns the vehicle when applying for the tax credit. Read More …

Lawmakers in Washington, DC and around the country are considering legislation that could affect electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Bills under consideration include EV tax credits, anti-ICEing laws, “Right to Charge” and “EV Ready” ordinances. PlugInSites is noting many of these bills as they are introduced and following their progress below.

Click here for current 2020 Bill Tracker

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If you plan to buy a plug-in electric vehicle in Maryland soon, you may have to wait until July to have your excise tax credit refund processed. According to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, the funds for the current fiscal year are now depleted. The MVA says that no additional refunds will be processed until July, 2019 when they will then be processed in the order that the applications are received.

This bulletin to auto dealers is dated November 19, 2018:

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Will Require EV Charging Infrastructure at New Residential Construction

Starting January 11, 2019, Howard County, Maryland will require electric vehicle charging infrastructure at all new residential construction. This includes one EV charging station for each 25 units at apartments, condominiums and hotels. Single family homes will have to be pre-wired for future installation of charging equipment.

Howard County is one of the first in the nation to enact an “EV-Ready” ordinance. Several cities in California have passed such legislation and Atlanta adopted an EV charging infrastructure readiness requirement for new construction in November, 2017.

The Howard County Council approved CB76-2018, sponsored by Councilwoman Jen Terrasa, on October 29, 2018. Councilwoman Terrasa stated, “This is an important move forward for electric vehicles and for the environment.”

The text of the bill can be found here.

City Traffic and Parking Commission Responds to New California Law

The City of Beverly Hills made changes to their Electric Vehicle Charging Policy on April 2, 2018 which were designed to encourage more efficient use of the city-operated 35 public charging stations. A controversial aspect of the new policy was to prohibit plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from using the charging stations.

The city also implemented EV charging fees, updated signs to reserve charging spots exclusively for battery-only electric vehicles and defined a new enforcement regulation to fine and/or tow all other vehicles including plug-in hybrids, gas-only vehicles and any all-battery EV that didn’t activate a charging session.

California State Senator Ricardo Lara, authored SB 1000 which contained a provision that barred local municipalities from restricting plug-in hybrids from using public EV charging stations funded using state or ratepayer money.

65850.9. (a) A city, county, or city and county shall not restrict which types of electric vehicles, including, but not limited to, plug-in hybrid vehicles, may access an electric vehicle charging station approved for passenger vehicles that both is publicly accessible and the construction of which was funded, at least in part, by the state or through moneys collected from ratepayers.

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