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Legislation Passed to Allow up to Four Tesla Stores in the State

Only minutes before the 2015 Maryland General Assembly ended at midnight, House Bill 235 passed the final vote needed to allow Tesla Motors to sell cars direct to customers in Maryland.

At 11:58 PM, @DelegateReznik of Montgomery County, who sponsored the bill, tweeted “Welcome to Maryland @TeslaMotors” with a photo of the tally board in Annapolis showing HB 235 had passed a concurrence vote in the House by 122 yeas to 15 nays.

The bill was supported by the Maryland Dealers Association which agreed to allow as many as six locations. However, General Motors wanted to limit the number to two locations. In the end, the bill was amended to allow as many as four dealer licenses to be issued.

After the bill is signed by the Governor, it will take effect October 1, 2015.

@PlugInSites

(Published March 31, 2015) About a year ago, I contacted my representative on the Howard County Council, Jen Terrasa, and asked her to introduce legislation to prohibit non-plug-in vehicles from parking at electric vehicle charging stations like Montgomery County Bill 32-13 which had recently passed.

Councilwoman Terrasa introduced CB36-2014 in June, 2014. Many of my fellow electric vehicle drivers expressed support for the bill and some even appeared before the Council in person to testify. The bill passed on July 25, 2014 and the Howard County Code was then amended.

The Howard County Police initially responded to complaints of gasoline vehicles blocking EV charging stations, particularly at the Columbia Association Athletic Club parking lot, and wrote citations noting a parking restriction violation of Section 21.207c3.

In recent weeks, the police have refused to write tickets at the Athletic Club telling the EV drivers who were blocked from charging that they can’t enforce it because it is on private property. I initially spoke with Sergeant Baker of the Howard County Police who looked at the law and agreed that it was enforceable on private property if there was a sign. He indicated that he would send out an email to all Howard County Police officers about the clarifications to the parking restrictions at EV charging stations.

Something changed between then and now and I learned from a police officer that they have been told NOT to enforce ICEd charging stations on private property. I called Sgt. Maskola of the Howard County Police. He confirmed that officers have been instructed that they can only enforce the charging station parking restrictions on County property and not on private property. He said there was an opinion issued by the Howard County Office of Law to support this position.

Then I spoke with Cynthia Peltzman at the Office of Law and she said that enforcement on private property would be through the “trespass-tow” law applicable to private property owners in Title 17, Subtitle 6 of the County Code. I’m not an attorney, but it seems logical that private property owners already had the ability to restrict parking, including at charging stations if they wish, under the existing trespass-tow law.


It was my understanding that Howard County Code Sec. 21.207c3 let private property owners decide, by posting a sign or not, if they wanted police enforcement of parking restrictions at charging stations on their property.
“…a person may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle in a space that is posted for the exclusive use of plug in vehicles:
(i) Under subsection (b) of this section for County property; or
(ii) By the property owner for private property.”

I have asked for clarification on the intent of the law created by CB36-2014 and what needs to be done to have it enforced on private property.

@Lanny

Here’s an update on House Bill (HB) 235 which would allow certain electric vehicle manufacturers including Tesla to sell cars direct to customers in Maryland. The bill received a favorable report by the House Environment and Transportation Committee after amendments advocated by GM were added. The second reading with amendments passed the full House on March 19, 2015. UPDATE: The third reading passed in the House, 137-0, on March 20, 2015.

The Maryland Automobile Dealers Association testified that they supported the bill. However, GM opposed it, as originally filed, and insisted on amendments to limit Tesla and any other manufacturer falling under the statute to only be licensed to operate at two locations.

GM seems to have been successful in their lobbying to get those amendments. The amendments allow two sales locations in Maryland. One of those two licenses can only be issued in Montgomery County. This would, in effect, grandfather the current Tesla location at Montgomery Mall and allow only one more sales location in the entire state.

The process starts all over again in the Senate. First stop will be in the  Judicial Proceedings Committee. That bill has not been filed as of March 20.

Subscribe below to get updates via email as they develop.

@Lanny

Here is an update on the current bills before the Maryland General Assembly that affect electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Senate Bill (SB) 682 to authorize a reciprocity agreement with Virginia for electric vehicles to use HOV lanes received an unfavorable report in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and is likely dead this session. There was no similar bill in Virginia for the proposed reciprocity agreement anyway.

Today, March 10th, there is a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on SB 714 to extend the tenure of the Maryland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC) from 2015 until 2020. The Maryland EVIC was established in 2011 to develop a plan to expand the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in the state. They also recommend legislation such as the next bill to report.

SB 762 which would lift restrictions at condos and HOAs and require landlords to approve a tenant’s request to install electric vehicle recharging equipment will have a hearing before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on March 19, 2015 at 1:00 PM. This bill is based on California Assembly Bill (AB) 2565 which gives multi-unit dwelling tenants the right to install a charging station at their residence as long as the tenant pays for the costs of installation, maintenance, electricity and subsequent removal upon moving. A substantial number of potential plug-in vehicle drivers live in rentals, condos or property governed by a homeowners association and this is a consequential issue for many.

There are several ways you can express your opinion to Maryland lawmakers on SB 762.
UPDATE: I’ve been told that there will be no verbal testimony from the public and that written testimony must be delivered to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee office before noon on March 19. See the Witness Guidelines and Committee FAQ’s for details.
1. Write to the members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Find a list of the committee members and their contact info here.
2. Go to Annapolis on March 19th to give your testimony in person. See these witness guidelines for the committee.

Finally, I called Delegate Reznik’s office to get an update on House Bill (HB) 235 which would allow certain electric vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla to sell cars direct to customers in Maryland. The bill is currently held up in subcommittee. An agreement has been worked out with the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association and they support the bill. However, GM is opposing it and some amendments are expected. They don’t know yet what those amendments will do to the bill. The subcommittee meets every Thursday and I will continue to monitor the progress of this and all EV and charging related bills in Annapolis and report here.

Subscribe to Plug In Sites below to get updates via email as they develop.

@Lanny