Bill Text: CA AB591 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Electric vehicle service equipment: connectors and public accessibility.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-06-14 - In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. [AB591 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB591-Introduced.html

---

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 591

---

Introduced by Assembly Member Gabriel

February 09, 2023

---

An act to amend Sections 44268 and 44268.2 of, and to add Section 44268.4 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to transportation electrification.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 591, as introduced, Gabriel. Electric vehicle service equipment: universal connectors and public accessibility.

Existing law prohibits requiring a person to pay a subscription fee or obtain a membership in any club, association, or organization in order to use an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee, as specified. Existing law requires an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee to allow a person desiring to use the station to pay via credit card or mobile technology, or both.

This bill would instead require an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee to allow a person desiring to use the station to pay via credit card. The bill would require that any electric vehicle service equipment installed or substantially retrofitted, as defined, except for private use at a single-family residence, include universal connectors that enable any electric vehicle to charge using the electric vehicle service equipment and be publicly accessible, including by enabling a person desiring to use the electric vehicle charging station to pay via credit card.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

---

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 44268 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

44268.

 As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Battery” means an electrochemical energy storage system powered directly by electrical current.

(b) “Electric vehicle” means a vehicle that uses a plug-in battery to provide all or part of the motive power of the vehicle, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or plug-in fuel cell vehicle.

(c) “Electric vehicle charging station” means one or more publicly available parking spaces served by electric vehicle service equipment.

(d) “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 an electric vehicle.

(e) “Interoperability billing standards” means the ability for a member of one electric charging station billing network to use another billing network.

(f) “Network roaming” means the act of a member of one electric vehicle charging station billing network using a charging station that is outside of the member’s billing network with his or her their billing network account information.

(g) “Publicly available parking space” means a parking 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 parking spaces and parking spaces in surface lots or parking garages. “Publicly available parking space” shall not include a parking space that is part of, or associated with, a private residence, a parking 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 parking space provided by a producer of electric vehicles as a service. Nothing in this This article limits does not limit the ability of an owner or lessee of a publicly available parking space whose primary business is other than electric vehicle charging from restricting use of the parking space, such as limiting use to customers and visitors of the business.

(h) “Substantially retrofitted” means that either onsite work was performed on the electric vehicle service equipment or the electric vehicle service equipment was fixed after malfunctioning, being broken, or otherwise being inoperable for at least 30 days.

SEC. 2.

 Section 44268.2 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

44268.2.

 (a) (1) Persons desiring to use an electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee shall not be required to pay a subscription fee in order to use the station, and shall 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, shall be disclosed to the public at the point of sale. An electric vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee shall allow a person desiring to use the station to pay via credit card or mobile technology, or both. card.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an electric vehicle charging station may offer services on a subscription- or membership-only basis provided those electric vehicle charging stations allow nonsubscribers or nonmembers the ability to use the electric vehicle charging station through the payment options option detailed in paragraph (1).

(b) The service provider of electric vehicle service equipment at an electric vehicle charging station or its designee shall 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.

(c) Electric vehicle charging stations shall be labeled in accordance with Part 309 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and, where commercially reasonable and feasible, may be clearly marked with appropriate directional signage in the parking area or facility where they are located.

(d) If no interoperability billing standards have been adopted by a national standards organization by January 1, 2015, the state board may adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations. If the state board adopts interoperability billing standards, all electric vehicle charging stations that require payment shall meet those standards within one year. Any standards adopted by the state board shall consider other governmental or industry-developed interoperability billing standards and may adopt interoperability billing standards promulgated by an outside authoritative body.

SEC. 3.

 Section 44268.4 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

44268.4.

 (a) Except as specified in subdivision (b), any electric vehicle service equipment installed or substantially retrofitted shall include universal connectors that enable any electric vehicle to charge using the electric vehicle service equipment and shall be publicly accessible, including, but not limited to, by enabling a person desiring to use the electric vehicle charging station to pay via credit card pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 44268.2.

(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to electric vehicle service equipment installed or substantially retrofitted for private use at a single-family residence.