BILL REQ. #:  H-4139.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/11/14.   

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

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 an owner or operator 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 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.
     (4) "Interoperability billing standards" means the ability for a member of one electric vehicle charging billing network to use another billing network.
     (5) "Network roaming" means the act of a member of one electric vehicle charging network using his or her billing account information to gain access to a public charging station that is outside of the member's billing network.
     (6) "Public charging station" means one or more publicly available charging spaces served by electric vehicle service equipment.
     (7) "Publicly available charging space" means a charging space that has been designated by the owner or operator of the space 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) The owner or operator of a public charging station may offer electric vehicle charging to subscribers or members of an electric vehicle charging network. Users of the station who are not subscribers or members of the network must be able to access a public charging station as provided in (b) of this subsection.
     (b) The owner or operator of a public charging station that requires users to pay a fee may not require users to pay a subscription fee to use the station, and may not require users to obtain membership in any club, association, or organization as a condition of using the station. The total actual charges for the use of a public charging station may include additional network roaming charges for nonmembers or nonsubscribers and must be disclosed to the public at the point of sale prior to a commitment to pay the charges. A public 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.
     (2) The owner or operator of a public charging station is strongly encouraged to disclose to the national renewable energy laboratory the public 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) A public charging station (a) must 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 public 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 of transportation may adopt interoperability billing standards or other rules that allow for network roaming payment methods for public charging stations.
     (b) If the department of transportation adopts standards or rules 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 public charging station that requires payment must meet any standards adopted by the department within one year.
     (5) This section does not apply to an owner or operator of a publicly available charging space whose primary business is other than electric vehicle charging.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act does not apply to charging stations installed before the effective date of this section.