Plug-In Sites

Yesterday, I joined Bob Erdman and Jeff Cadman in Annapolis to show support for Maryland House Bill 235. This bill, introduced by Delegate Kirill Reznik of Montgomery County, would allow Tesla and other qualifying Electric Vehicle manufacturers to sell cars directly to consumers. Currently, Tesla is limited by state law from any sales activity including discussing price with potential buyers.

Jeff and Bob both own a Tesla Model S. In his letter to the committee, Jeff noted that when visitors to the Tesla Gallery in Montgomery Mall ask for pricing and ordering information, the employees have to refer them to the Tesla website. “The situation is both confusing for the customers and frustrating for the employees.”

Bob told the committee that he had to go to Washington, DC to discuss price and order his car. He explained why he thought it is important to allow manufacturers of electric vehicles such as Tesla to directly represent and sell the cars they make. “It takes an extra effort to educate the potential buyer of this new technology.” See his testimony at 25:55 into the video.

Jen Brock-Cancellieri, Deputy Director, Maryland League of Conservation Voters also testified in support of the bill. She said, “This bill will encourage the sale of more electric vehicles in Maryland.” She added that the current law is bad news for the state because it is limiting the electric vehicle market.

The Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, unlike the dealers associations in some other states, has been cooperative. They have worked together with the bill’s sponsor to agree to allow a limited number of Tesla dealerships in the state. Delegate Reznik proposes allowing Tesla to have up to six locations in Maryland. The President of the Maryland Dealers Association testified in support of the bill with amendments.

The only ones to appear in opposition to the bill were two attorneys representing General Motors. GM wants the bill to limit Tesla to the two facilities that they currently have in Maryland, the Gallery in Montgomery Mall and the Service Center in Rockville. You can watch the testimony from GM starting at 36:30 on the video.

This bill still has a long way to go. Next, it will be sent to a subcommittee and then back to the Environment and Transportation Committee to vote. If you’d like to speak up, it’s not too late. The members of the House Environment and Transportation Committee are listed here.

Subscribe below to get updates via email as they develop.

@Lanny

House Environment and Transportation Committee Hearing on 2/19/15 at 1:00 PM

The Baltimore Sun has published a front page feature story with the headline, “Legislation could open the door for Tesla to sell its cars in Maryland.” State Delegate Kirill Reznik from District 39 in Montgomery County has introduced House Bill 235 which would lift the current ban on direct sales by Tesla Motors in the state.

Maryland HB235 would authorize a manufacturer to be licensed as a vehicle dealer if that manufacturer deals only in electric or non fossil-fuel burning vehicles and if no dealer in the State holds a franchise.

There will be a hearing on HB235 in the House Environment and Transportation Committee at 1:00 on February 19, 2015. Here is the schedule.

There are several ways you can express your opinion to Maryland lawmakers on HB 235.
1. Write to the members of the House Environment and Transportation Committee. Find a list of the committee members and their contact info here.
2. Go to Annapolis on Thursday afternoon to give your testimony in person. See these tips for attending a committee hearing.

Subscribe below to get updates via email as they develop.

@Lanny

My phone rang and the voice at the other end said he was Sergeant Baker of the Howard County Police. I had left a message for an Auxiliary Police Supervisor last week about enforcement of parking restrictions at electric vehicle charging stations in the county. I had been referred to the supervisor by a very nice volunteer Auxiliary officer who happened to be on the scene of a blocked charging station several weeks ago when I arrived to charge my car there. He was responding to a reported parking violation that had been called in by another EV driver.

The Auxiliary officer was unfamiliar with the aspect of the new law in Howard County that prohibits an ICE vehicle from blocking a charging station even on private property if the property owner has posted a sign designating the space for EVs only. He was in contact with someone via radio but for whatever reason, they were not able to find or interpret the law and he ended up leaving a warning and not a citation for the gasoline car.

Before he contacted me, Sgt. Baker had looked at Section 21.207 of the Howard County Code as it pertains to enforcement at charging stations on private property. He agreed that the law is enforceable on private property when there is a sign posted. He said that he will mention this at the next meeting with the Auxiliary officers on February 17th. He said he would also send out an email to all Howard County Police officers about the parking restrictions at electric vehicle charging stations. That is fantastic and I really appreciate the response from the Howard County Police. All of the officers that I’ve talked to about this have been very helpful and pleasant.

As I wrote in an article in the May, 2014 issue of Current EVents, the laws by themselves won’t completely solve the problem of ICEing. Effective signage and proper siting also plays a part in the solution. I do not advocate the promise of more revenue from fines as a reason for a community to enact legislation. If that many tickets are being given, each citation represents a failure to keep the charging station available for its intended use. However, where there is a problem of gas vehicles blocking EV drivers from charging, it reinforces the wrong message, that it is OK to park an ICE vehicle there. Enforcement depends on violations being reported.

I’ve created a new page on pluginsites.org for reference on the local laws in Maryland prohibiting “ICEing” and the non-emergengy phone numbers to call to report violations. Click “LOCAL LAWS” on the main menu.

@Lanny