Bill Text: NJ A1376 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Promotes installation and operation of electric vehicle charging stations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A1376 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A1376-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Promotes installation and operation of electric vehicle charging stations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning electric vehicle charging stations and supplementing Titles 48, 45, and 39 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature finds that:
(1) As found by the Rutgers Climate Institute's 2012 Update to the New Jersey's Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for 2009, the transportation industry sector is the largest source of air pollution in New Jersey, accounting for 46.3 percent of the State's greenhouse gas emissions;
(2) the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, has classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans, based on sufficient evidence that it is linked to an increased risk of lung cancer; and
(3) depending on the source of electricity, the use of electric vehicles can promote the generation of renewable energy in the State.
b. The Legislature therefore declares that it is the policy of this State to:
(1) accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations to help reduce greenhouse gases, address the impact of combustion engine vehicular travel on health, and create jobs in New Jersey; and
(2) implement cost-effective, new technologies that advance the economy, protect the environment, and advance the development of policies to promote electric vehicles as recommended by the New Jersey Energy Master Plan.
2. As used in sections 1 through 6 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Battery electric vehicle" means a motor vehicle that draws propulsion energy solely from an on-board electrical energy storage device during operation that is charged from an external source of electricity.
"Board," "basic generation service provider," "electric power supplier," and "electric public utility" shall have the same meaning as prescribed for those terms under section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"Electric vehicle" means a battery electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
"Electric vehicle charging station" means an electric component assembly or cluster of component assemblies designed specifically to charge a battery within an electric vehicle by permitting the transfer of electric energy to a battery or other storage device in an electric vehicle.
"Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle" means a motor vehicle that draws propulsion energy from an on-board electrical energy storage device during operation that can be charged from an external source of electricity but also has the capability to run on another fuel.
"Public electric vehicle charging station" or "charging station" means a charging station for charging an electric vehicle located at a publicly available parking space.
"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 or a parking space that is reserved for the exclusive use of an individual driver or vehicle or for a group of drivers or vehicles, including employees, tenants, visitors, residents of a planned real estate development, or residents of an adjacent building.
3. a. An electric public utility may operate a public electric vehicle charging station as a regulated service in an underserved market in a manner determined by and subject to the approval of the Board of Public Utilities.
b. The board shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
4. a. The board shall not regulate the rates, services, facilities, or practices of an entity that operates a public electric vehicle charging station if:
(1) the entity is not otherwise subject to the board's jurisdiction as an electric public utility; or
(2) the entity is otherwise subject to board jurisdiction as an electric public utility, but the operation of a public electric vehicle charging station by an electric public utility is not subsidized by any service of an electric public utility that is regulated by the board.
b. Unless otherwise specifically provided in Title 48 of the Revised Statutes or any other law, a person owning, controlling, operating, or managing an electric vehicle charging station shall not be deemed an electric public utility solely because of that ownership, control, operation, or management. The charging of an electric vehicle shall be deemed a service and not a sale of electricity by an electric power supplier or basic generation service provider pursuant to P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-49 et al.).
5. In consultation with the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection, the board shall develop requirements, and promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), applicable to a public electric vehicle charging station located at a residential or commercial building. The rules and regulations shall provide for the use of national or international building and electric code standards to promote the safe installation and operation of an electric vehicle charging station.
6. a. A person using a public electric vehicle charging station shall not be required to pay a membership fee, subscription fee, or other similar fee to operate an electric vehicle charging station.
b. The owner or operator of a public electric vehicle charging station shall provide payment options that allow access to the charging station for use by the general public.
7. Upon receiving a request by the owner of a unit within a planned real estate development, the Department of Community Affairs shall determine, on a case-by-case basis, in a manner determined by the department, whether a planned real estate development has placed an unreasonable restriction applicable to locating or operating an electric vehicle charging station within a planned real estate development. As determined by the department, any unreasonable restrictions on an electric vehicle charging station, as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), within a parking area of a planned real estate development, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-23), shall be prohibited.
8. A municipality acting under the provisions of the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) with respect to parking areas in rights-of-ways within its control, or under the authority granted under P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.) with respect to zoning, may adopt an ordinance requiring certain parking areas be restricted for the parking of an electric vehicle, as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), being charged by an electric vehicle charging station, as defined in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
9. In consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Department of the Treasury, and local governments and stakeholders as deemed necessary by the board, the board shall research issues impacting the goal of this State to encourage the use of electric vehicles. The board shall report its findings to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature.
10. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill promotes the installation and operation of electric vehicle charging stations (charging stations). Specifically, the bill permits an electric public utility (utility) to operate a charging station as a regulated service in severely underserved markets, as determined by the Board of Public Utilities (board) and subject to the board's approval. The board is not to regulate a charging station provided by an entity not otherwise regulated by the board if: 1) the entity is not otherwise subject to the board's jurisdiction as a utility; or 2) the entity is otherwise subject to board jurisdiction as a utility, but the operation of a charging station by a utility is not subsidized by any service of a utility that is regulated by the board.
The bill provides that an owner or operator of a charging station is not to require the payment of a membership, subscription, or other similar fee for use of a charging station. The owner or operator of a charging station is to provide payment options that allow access to the charging station for use by the general public.
Under the bill, the board is to consult with the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection to develop requirements, and to promulgate rules and regulations applicable to a public electric vehicle charging station located at a residential or commercial building. The rules and regulations are to provide for the use of national or international building and electric code standards to promote the safe installation and operation of an electric vehicle charging station.
The bill allows municipalities to set aside a parking area under its control for the parking of an electric vehicle being charged by a charging station. The bill requires that the Department of Community Affairs is to determine, on a case-by-case basis, in a manner determined by the Department of Community Affairs, whether a planned real estate development has placed an unreasonable restriction applicable to locating or operating an electric vehicle charging station within a planned real estate development and prohibit that unreasonable restriction.
Further, the board, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Department of the Treasury, and local governments and stakeholders as deemed necessary by the board, is to research issues impacting the goal of this State to encourage the use of electric vehicles. The board is to report its findings to the Governor and the Legislature.
