U.S.A. Electrify Forward Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1879 To promote American leadership in vehicle manufacturing, job creation, im- proved air quality, and climate protection through domestic manufac- turing of low- and zero-emission vehicles and development of electric vehicle charging networks, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 12, 2021 Mrs. DINGELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To promote American leadership in vehicle manufacturing, job creation, improved air quality, and climate protection through domestic manufacturing of low- and zero-emis- sion vehicles and development of electric vehicle charging networks, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘U.S.A. Electrify For- 4 ward Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1879 IH SEC. 2. DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING CONVERSION GRANT 1 PROGRAM. 2 (a) HYBRID VEHICLES, ADVANCED VEHICLES, AND 3 FUEL CELL BUSES.—Subtitle B of title VII of the Energy 4 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16061 et seq.) is amend- 5 ed— 6 (1) in the subtitle header, by inserting ‘‘Plug- 7 In Electric Vehicles,’’ before ‘‘Hybrid Vehi- 8 cles’’; and 9 (2) in part 1, in the part header, by striking 10 ‘‘HYBRID’’ and inserting ‘‘PLUG-IN ELECTRIC’’. 11 (b) PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES.—Section 711 of 12 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16061) is 13 amended to read as follows: 14 ‘‘SEC. 711. PLUG-IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES. 15 ‘‘The Secretary shall accelerate efforts, related to do- 16 mestic manufacturing, that are directed toward the im- 17 provement of batteries, power electronics, and other tech- 18 nologies for use in plug-in electric vehicles.’’. 19 (c) EFFICIENT HYBRID AND ADVANCED DIESEL VE- 20 HICLES.—Section 712 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 21 (42 U.S.C. 16062) is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a)— 23 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, plug- 24 in electric,’’ after ‘‘efficient hybrid’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1879 IH (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 1 follows: 2 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to— 3 ‘‘(A) the refurbishment or retooling of 4 manufacturing facilities that have recently 5 ceased operation or would otherwise cease oper- 6 ation in the near future; and 7 ‘‘(B) applications containing a written as- 8 surance that— 9 ‘‘(i) all laborers and mechanics em- 10 ployed by contractors or subcontractors 11 during construction, alteration, retooling, 12 or repair that is financed, in whole or in 13 part, by a grant under this subsection shall 14 be paid wages at rates not less than those 15 prevailing on similar construction in the lo- 16 cality, as determined by the Secretary of 17 Labor in accordance with sections 3141 18 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 19 United States Code; and 20 ‘‘(ii) all laborers and mechanics em- 21 ployed by the owner or operator of a man- 22 ufacturing facility that is financed, in 23 whole or in part, by a grant under this 24 subsection shall be paid wages at rates not 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1879 IH less than those prevailing on similar con- 1 struction in the locality, as determined by 2 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 3 sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 4 3147 of title 40, United States Code.’’; 5 and 6 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(c) COST SHARE AND GUARANTEE OF OPER- 9 ATION.— 10 ‘‘(1) CONDITION.—A recipient of a grant under 11 this section shall pay the Secretary the full amount 12 of the grant if the facility financed in whole or in 13 part under this subsection fails to manufacture 14 goods for a period of at least 10 years after the com- 15 pletion of construction. 16 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—Section 988(c) shall apply 17 to a grant made under this subsection. 18 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 19 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 20 out this section $2.5 billion for each of fiscal years 2022 21 through 2031. 22 ‘‘(e) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—An award made 23 under this section after the date of enactment of this sub- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1879 IH section shall only be available with respect to facilities and 1 equipment placed in service before December 30, 2035.’’. 2 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 3 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended— 4 (1) in the item relating to subtitle B of title 5 VII, by inserting ‘‘Plug-In Electric Vehicles,’’ before 6 ‘‘Hybrid Vehicles’’; 7 (2) in the item relating to part 1 of such sub- 8 title, by striking ‘‘Hybrid’’ and inserting ‘‘Plug-In 9 Electric’’; and 10 (3) in the item relating to section 711, by strik- 11 ing ‘‘Hybrid’’ and inserting ‘‘Plug-in electric’’. 12 SEC. 3. MODEL BUILDING CODE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE 13 SUPPLY EQUIPMENT. 14 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review proposed or 15 final model building codes for— 16 (1) integrating electric vehicle supply equipment 17 into residential and commercial buildings that in- 18 clude space for individual vehicle or fleet vehicle 19 parking; and 20 (2) integrating onsite renewable power equip- 21 ment and electric storage equipment (including elec- 22 tric vehicle batteries to be used for electric storage) 23 into residential and commercial buildings. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1879 IH (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 1 provide technical assistance to stakeholders representing 2 the building construction industry, manufacturers of elec- 3 tric vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment, State 4 and local governments, and any other persons with rel- 5 evant expertise or interests to facilitate understanding of 6 the model code and best practices for adoption by jurisdic- 7 tions. 8 SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION ELECTRIFICATION. 9 Section 131 of the Energy Independence and Security 10 Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17011) is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a)(6)— 12 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 13 including ground support equipment at ports’’ 14 before the semicolon; 15 (B) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 16 ‘‘and vehicles’’ before the semicolon; 17 (C) in subparagraph (H), by striking 18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 19 (D) in subparagraph (I)— 20 (i) by striking ‘‘battery chargers,’’; 21 and 22 (ii) by striking the period at the end 23 and inserting a semicolon; and 24 (E) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1879 IH ‘‘(J) installation of electric vehicle supply 1 equipment for recharging plug-in electric drive 2 vehicles, including such equipment that is acces- 3 sible in rural and urban areas and in under- 4 served or disadvantaged communities and such 5 equipment for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, 6 including at depots and in-route locations; 7 ‘‘(K) multi-use charging hubs used for 8 multiple forms of transportation; 9 ‘‘(L) medium- and heavy-duty vehicle 10 smart charging management and refueling; 11 ‘‘(M) battery recycling and secondary use, 12 including for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; 13 and 14 ‘‘(N) sharing of best practices, and tech- 15 nical assistance provided by the Department to 16 public utilities commissions and utilities, for 17 medium- and heavy-duty vehicle electrifica- 18 tion.’’; 19 (2) in subsection (b)— 20 (A) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 21 components for such vehicles, and charging 22 equipment for such vehicles’’ after ‘‘vehicles’’; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1879 IH (B) in paragraph (6), by striking 1 ‘‘$90,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 2 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000,000 3 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031’’; 4 (3) in subsection (c)— 5 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘NEAR- 6 TERM’’ and inserting ‘‘LARGE-SCALE’’; and 7 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking 8 ‘‘$95,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 9 through 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500,000,000 10 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031’’; 11 and 12 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub- 13 section (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under sub- 16 sections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall give priority con- 17 sideration to applications that contain a written assurance 18 that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 19 or subcontractors during construction, alteration, or re- 20 pair that is financed, in whole or in part, by a grant pro- 21 vided under this section shall be paid wages at rates not 22 less than those prevailing on similar construction in the 23 locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac- 24 cordance with sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1879 IH 3147 of title 40, United States Code (and the Secretary 1 of Labor shall, with respect to the labor standards de- 2 scribed in this clause, have the authority and functions 3 set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 4 (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United 5 States Code).’’. 6 SEC. 5. STATE CONSIDERATION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE 7 CHARGING. 8 (a) CONSIDERATION AND DETERMINATION RESPECT- 9 ING CERTAIN RATEMAKING STANDARDS.—Section 111(d) 10 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 11 U.S.C. 2621(d)) is further amended by adding at the end 12 the following: 13 ‘‘(20) ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PRO- 14 GRAMS.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall con- 16 sider measures to promote greater electrifica- 17 tion of the transportation sector, including— 18 ‘‘(i) authorizing measures to stimulate 19 investment in and deployment of electric 20 vehicle supply equipment and to foster the 21 market for electric vehicle charging; 22 ‘‘(ii) authorizing each electric utility 23 of the State to recover from ratepayers any 24 capital, operating expenditure, or other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1879 IH costs of the electric utility relating to load 1 management, programs, or investments as- 2 sociated with the integration of electric ve- 3 hicle supply equipment into the grid; and 4 ‘‘(iii) allowing a person or agency that 5 owns and operates an electric vehicle 6 charging facility for the sole purpose of re- 7 charging an electric vehicle battery to be 8 excluded from regulation as an electric 9 utility pursuant to section 3(4) when mak- 10 ing electricity sales from the use of the 11 electric vehicle charging facility, if such 12 sales are the only sales of electricity made 13 by the person or agency. 14 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 15 paragraph, the term ‘electric vehicle supply 16 equipment’ means conductors, including 17 ungrounded, grounded, and equipment ground- 18 ing conductors, electric vehicle connectors, at- 19 tachment plugs, and all other fittings, devices, 20 power outlets, or apparatuses installed specifi- 21 cally for the purpose of delivering energy to an 22 electric vehicle.’’. 23 (b) OBLIGATIONS TO CONSIDER AND DETERMINE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1879 IH (1) TIME LIMITATIONS.—Section 112(b) of the 1 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 2 U.S.C. 2622(b)) is amended by adding at the end 3 the following: 4 ‘‘(7)(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 5 enactment of this paragraph, each State regulatory 6 authority (with respect to each electric utility for 7 which it has ratemaking authority) and each non- 8 regulated electric utility shall commence the consid- 9 eration referred to in section 111, or set a hearing 10 date for consideration, with respect to the standards 11 established by paragraph (20) of section 111(d). 12 ‘‘(B) Not later than 2 years after the date of 13 the enactment of this paragraph, each State regu- 14 latory authority (with respect to each electric utility 15 for which it has ratemaking authority), and each 16 nonregulated electric utility, shall complete the con- 17 sideration, and shall make the determination, re- 18 ferred to in section 111 with respect to each stand- 19 ard established by paragraph (20) of section 20 111(d).’’. 21 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Section 112(c) of 22 the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 23 (16 U.S.C. 2622(c)) is amended by adding at the 24 end the following: ‘‘In the case of the standard es- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1879.IH H1879 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1879 IH tablished by paragraph (20) of section 111(d), the 1 reference contained in this subsection to the date of 2 enactment of this Act shall be deemed to be a ref- 3 erence to the date of enactment of that paragraph.’’. 4 (3) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Section 112 of the 5 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 6 U.S.C. 2622) is amended by adding at the end the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(g) PRIOR STATE ACTIONS.—Subsections (b) and 9 (c) of this section shall not apply to the standard estab- 10 lished by paragraph (20) of section 111(d) in the case of 11 any electric utility in a State if, before the enactment of 12 this subsection— 13 ‘‘(1) the State has implemented for such utility 14 the standard concerned (or a comparable standard); 15 ‘‘(2) the State regulatory authority for such 16 State or relevant nonregulated electric utility has 17 conducted a proceeding to consider implementation 18 of the standard concerned (or a comparable stand- 19 ard) for such utility; 20 ‘‘(3) the State legislature has voted on the im- 21 ple [Text truncated for display. 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