BILL REQ. #:  H-3653.1 

Read first time 01/28/14.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to electric vehicle charging stations; adding new sections to chapter 46.08 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that:
     (a) The transportation sector is the biggest contributor to Washington's greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for over forty percent of such emissions;
     (b) The development and success of zero emission vehicles will protect the environment, stimulate economic growth, and improve the quality of life in the state;
     (c) The development of infrastructure for open and accessible public charging stations is necessary to support the use of electric vehicles;
     (d) To promote the growth of electric vehicles, consumers need confidence that they can access a robust network of publicly available charging stations, regardless of system provider; and
     (e) Electric vehicle drivers need to be able to find charging stations and know how much they cost.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature to (a) promote a positive driving experience by assisting in the widespread deployment of electric vehicles, (b) allow a property owner or lessee of publicly available charging spaces to restrict use of or access to those charging spaces to its customers, and (c) facilitate expanded driver access to electric vehicle charging stations in public places.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 46.08 RCW to read as follows:
     For the purposes of this section and section 3 of this act, the following definitions apply:
     (1) "Battery" means an electrochemical energy storage system powered directly by electrical current.
     (2) "Electric vehicle" means a vehicle that uses a plug-in battery to provide all or part of the motive power of the vehicle, including a battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or plug-in fuel cell vehicle.
     (3) "Electric vehicle charging station" means one or more publicly available charging spaces served by electric vehicle service equipment.
     (4) "Electric vehicle service equipment" means an electric component assembly or cluster of component assemblies designed specifically to charge batteries within electric vehicles by permitting the transfer of electric energy to a battery or other storage device in the electric vehicle.
     (5) "Interoperability billing standards" means the ability for a member of one electric charging station billing network to use another billing network.
     (6) "Network roaming" means the act of a member of one electric vehicle charging station that is outside of the member's billing network with his or her billing network account information.
     (7) "Publicly available charging space" means a charging space that has been designated by a property owner or lessee to be available to, and accessible by, the public and may include on-street charging stations and charging stations in surface lots or parking garages. "Publicly available charging space" does not include a charging space that is part of, or associated with, a private residence, a charging space that is reserved for the exclusive use of an individual driver or vehicle or for a group of drivers or vehicles, such as employees, tenants, visitors, residents of a common interest development, or residents of an adjacent building, or a charging space provided by a producer of electric vehicles as a service.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 46.08 RCW to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Any person desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station that requires the payment of a fee must not be required to pay a subscription fee to use the station, and must not be required to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station. The total actual charges for the use of an electric vehicle charging station, including any additional network roaming charges for nonmembers, must be disclosed to the public at the point of sale prior to a commitment to pay the charges. An electric vehicle charging station that requires the payment of a fee must allow a person desiring to use the station to pay via a credit card or mobile technology, or both.
     (b) An electric vehicle charging station may offer services on a subscription or membership-only basis if the station allows nonsubscribers or nonmembers the ability to use the electric vehicle charging station through the payment options detailed in (a) of this subsection.
     (2) The service provider of electric vehicle service equipment at an electric vehicle charging station, or its designee, must disclose to the national renewable energy laboratory the electric vehicle charging station's geographic location, a schedule of fees, accepted methods of payment, and the amount of network roaming charges for nonmembers, if any.
     (3) An electric vehicle charging station (a) must be labeled in accordance with RCW 46.08.185 and display the method for contacting the charging station's operator to obtain immediate access to charging, and (b) where commercially reasonable and feasible, may be clearly marked with appropriate directional signage in the parking area or facility where the electric vehicle charging station is located.
     (4)(a) If interoperability standards have not been adopted by a national standards organization within two years of the effective date of this section, the department may adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations.
     (b) If the department adopts standards under (a) of this subsection, it must consider other governmental or industry-developed interoperability billing standards and may adopt interoperability billing standards promulgated by an outside authoritative body. Any electric vehicle charging station that requires payment must meet any standards adopted by the department within one year.
     (5) This section does not limit the ability of an owner or lessee of a publicly available charging space whose primary business is other than electric vehicle charging from restricting the use of the charging space, such as limiting use to customers and visitors of the business.