STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4173 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. O'DONNELL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring all new residential and commercial construction that has dedicated off-street parking to implement electric vehicle supply equipment infrastructure The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "electric vehicle readiness act". 3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 378-a to 4 read as follows: 5 § 378-a. Standards for construction of electric vehicle supply equip- 6 ment. 1. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall 7 have the following meanings: 8 a. "Electric vehicle" or "EV" shall mean an automotive-type vehicle 9 for on-road use, such as passenger automobiles, buses, trucks, vans, 10 neighborhood electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, and the like, 11 powered by an electric motor that draws current from a rechargeable 12 storage battery, fuel cell, photovoltaic array, or other source of elec- 13 tric current which is charged by being plugged into an electrical 14 source. For the purpose of this section, off-road, self-propelled elec- 15 tric vehicles, such as industrial trucks, hoists, lifts, transports, 16 golf carts, airline ground support equipment, tractors, boats, and the 17 like, are not included. 18 b. "Electric vehicle supply equipment" or "EVSE" shall mean the 19 conductors, including the ungrounded, grounded and equipment grounding 20 conductors, and the electric vehicle connectors, attachment plugs, and 21 all other fittings, devices, power outlets, or other apparatus installed 22 specifically for the purpose of transferring energy between the wiring 23 of the premises and the electric vehicle. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08960-01-3A. 4173 2 1 c. "Electric vehicle supply equipment infrastructure" shall mean the 2 equipment, as defined by the national electrical code, which is provided 3 to support future electric vehicle charging. This shall include, but not 4 be limited to: the design load placed on electrical panels and service 5 equipment to support the additional electrical demand, the panel capaci- 6 ty to support additional feeder or branch circuits, and the installation 7 of raceways, both underground and surface mounted, to support the elec- 8 trical vehicle supply equipment. 9 2. All new commercial and residential buildings that include dedicated 10 off-street parking, that is not located in any dedicated public right- 11 of-way, shall be required to install EVSE infrastructure as follows: 12 a. The EVSE infrastructure shall be installed pursuant to the require- 13 ments of the current edition of the national electrical code. 14 b. The number of parking spaces shall be at least one parking space 15 with EVSE infrastructure for every five parking spaces without EVSE 16 infrastructure. 17 c. For all new commercial construction, all new off-street parking 18 shall include EVSE infrastructure based on the total number of parking 19 spaces established in paragraph b of this subdivision. 20 (i) The electrical equipment room, when provided for in new buildings, 21 shall have a dedicated space for the future installation of EVSE. This 22 space shall be identified on all construction documents submitted for 23 review, and the dedicated space shall not allow for any violation of the 24 national electrical code prescriptive requirements regulating working 25 space clearances around equipment, or any violation of the national 26 electrical code prescriptive requirements governing the entrance to and 27 egress from such electrical equipment working space. 28 (ii) During the construction of the electrical equipment room, all 29 raceways installed for the EVSE infrastructure shall terminate at the 30 space dedicated for the future EVSE installation. 31 (iii) Prior to the final electrical inspection approval, the space 32 dedicated within the electrical room for the future EVSE installation 33 shall have the wall labeled with the following language: "FUTURE ELEC- 34 TRIC VEHICLE CHARGING EQUIPMENT AND PANELS". 35 (iv) The proposed placement and installation of EVSE infrastructure or 36 equipment shall not violate any provision of the Americans with Disabil- 37 ities Act of 1990. 38 (v) The EVSE infrastructure shall include a raceway which is contin- 39 uous from the branch circuit or feeder panel location to the future EV 40 parking space designated for the building. Such raceway shall be sized 41 and installed pursuant to the national electrical code; however, in no 42 case shall such raceway be less than one inch in size. Such raceway 43 shall include a pull rope or line installed for future conductor instal- 44 lation with such raceway sealed and labeled for future use. 45 (vi) The placement of EVSE shall not create a trip hazard or violation 46 of the accessible path of travel when the EVSE cord is connected to an 47 EV. 48 (vii) The requirements of this paragraph shall not apply to buildings 49 without a designated parking space located on the premises or to parking 50 spaces located in the public right-of-way. 51 d. For all new residential construction, all new off-street parking 52 shall include EVSE infrastructure based on the total number of parking 53 spaces established in paragraph b of this subdivision. All buildings 54 regulated by this section shall provide sufficient electrical capacity 55 for a forty-ampere, two hundred forty-volt branch circuit for the future 56 installation of EVSE.A. 4173 3 1 (i) An attached or detached garage, when provided in new residential 2 buildings, shall include dedicated space for the future placement of 3 EVSE. 4 (ii) Absent an attached or detached garage, an underground electrical 5 conduit shall be provided between the dwelling and the designated park- 6 ing space for the dwelling. The EVSE infrastructure shall include a 7 raceway which is continuous from the branch circuit or feeder panel 8 location to the future EV parking space designated for the building. 9 Such raceway shall be sized and installed pursuant to the national elec- 10 trical code; however, in no case shall such raceway be less than one 11 inch in size. Such raceway shall include a pull rope or line installed 12 for future conductor installation with such raceway sealed and labeled 13 for future use. 14 (iii) The placement of EVSE shall not create a trip hazard or 15 violation of the accessible path of travel when the EVSE cord is 16 connected to an EV. 17 (iv) The requirements of this paragraph shall not apply to buildings 18 without a designated parking space located on the premises or to parking 19 spaces located in the public right-of-way. 20 3. Exceptions may be issued by a local enforcement agency where such 21 agency has determined that EV charging and infrastructure are not feasi- 22 ble based upon one or more of the following conditions: 23 a. There is no commercial power supply for the planned building. 24 b. If there is evidence substantiating that meeting the requirements 25 of this section will present an unreasonable hardship or is technically 26 infeasible, the local enforcement agency may consider an appeal from the 27 project sponsor to reduce the number of EV charging spaces required or 28 provide for EV charging elsewhere. 29 4. All exceptions granted by local law enforcement agencies shall be 30 reported to the council and the department of environmental conserva- 31 tion. 32 5. Nothing in this section shall prevent the council or a local 33 government from adopting a law, code, ordinance or regulation which is 34 more stringent than the requirements of this section. 35 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 36 have become a law.