Community Vehicle Charging Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1866 To require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 26, 2021 Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to establish a grant program to increase the availability of electric vehi- cle charging infrastructure in environmental justice com- munities, 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 ‘‘Community Vehicle 4 Charging Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1866 IS (1) the transportation sector is the highest 1 emitting sector of greenhouse gases in the United 2 States; 3 (2) transportation is a significant source of 4 toxic air pollutants; 5 (3) electrification is considered 1 of the most 6 feasible and affordable opportunities to decarbonize 7 transportation in the near-term, and thus reduce 8 pollutants harmful to public health; 9 (4) the adoption of electric vehicles is depend- 10 ent on adequate access to electric vehicle charging 11 infrastructure; 12 (5) publicly available electric vehicle charging 13 infrastructure has been distributed inequitably, and 14 not all people of the United States have the ability 15 to access electric vehicle charging infrastructure at 16 home or at work; 17 (6) range anxiety and a lack of access to elec- 18 tric vehicle charging infrastructure are significant 19 barriers to the widespread adoption of electric vehi- 20 cles; 21 (7) access to electric vehicle charging infra- 22 structure differs from proximity to electric vehicle 23 charging infrastructure; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1866 IS (8) environmental justice communities face sev- 1 eral barriers to accessing electric vehicles, electric 2 vehicle charging infrastructure, and funding pro- 3 grams to install electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 4 ture, including— 5 (A) the high cost of, and a lack of knowl- 6 edge about, electric vehicles; 7 (B) the high cost of— 8 (i) level 2 electric vehicle charging in- 9 frastructure; and 10 (ii) fast charging electric vehicle 11 charging infrastructure; 12 (C) a lack of awareness of the availability 13 of— 14 (i) electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 15 ture; and 16 (ii) funding programs to install elec- 17 tric vehicle charging infrastructure; 18 (D) a lack of technical support and up- 19 front funding for the installation of electric ve- 20 hicle charging infrastructure; 21 (E) a low level of homeownership in envi- 22 ronmental justice communities; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1866 IS (F) the high percentage of individuals and 1 families in environmental justice communities 2 who reside in multi-unit dwellings; 3 (G) linguistic isolation; and 4 (H) the short timelines for electric vehicle 5 charging infrastructure projects; and 6 (9) effective programs for environmental justice 7 communities to access electric vehicle charging infra- 8 structure and funding programs for the installation 9 of electric vehicle charging infrastructure need to be 10 targeted to overcome the barriers described in para- 11 graph (8). 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENT.—The 15 term ‘‘community benefit agreement’’ means a con- 16 tract between 1 or more community-based organiza- 17 tions representing residents of an environmental jus- 18 tice community and an eligible entity carrying out 19 an eligible project to ensure that the eligible project 20 creates— 21 (A) employment opportunities for local 22 workers in the environmental justice commu- 23 nity; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1866 IS (B) other opportunities or benefits for the 1 residents of the environmental justice commu- 2 nity. 3 (2) ELECTRIC VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘electric 4 vehicle’’ means a vehicle that is powered primarily 5 by an electric motor drawing current from recharge- 6 able batteries, including battery electric vehicles and 7 plug-in hybrid vehicles. 8 (3) ELECTRIC VEHICLE MAKE-READY INFRA- 9 STRUCTURE.—The term ‘‘electric vehicle make-ready 10 infrastructure’’ means the electrical infrastructure 11 needed to connect and serve electric vehicle charging 12 infrastructure, including— 13 (A) raceway or conduit; 14 (B) sufficient electrical panel service ca- 15 pacity; 16 (C) overcurrent protection; 17 (D) devices; 18 (E) wire; and 19 (F) suitable termination points, such as a 20 junction box with a service loop. 21 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 22 ty’’ means each of the following: 23 (A) A community-based organization. 24 (B) A nonprofit organization. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1866 IS (C) A local, regional, State, or Tribal gov- 1 ernment. 2 (D) A metropolitan planning organization. 3 (E) Any other entity responsible for local 4 transportation planning and transportation 5 projects. 6 (5) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 7 project’’ means a project described in section 4(d) 8 that is carried out in, and addresses the electric ve- 9 hicle charging infrastructure needs of, an environ- 10 mental justice community. 11 (6) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 12 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 13 a community consisting primarily of minority, low- 14 income, or Tribal populations that experience, or are 15 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 16 human health or environmental effects as compared 17 to other populations. 18 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of Transportation. 20 SEC. 4. ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE 21 GRANT PROGRAM. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 24 tablish a grant program to provide grants to eligible enti- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1866 IS ties for projects that address barriers to access to electric 1 vehicle charging infrastructure faced by environmental 2 justice communities. 3 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity desiring a 4 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 5 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 6 such information as the Secretary may require. 7 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the grant pro- 8 gram established under subsection (a), the Secretary 9 shall— 10 (1) use a public process to identify known bar- 11 riers to access to electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 12 ture faced by environmental justice communities, in- 13 cluding the barriers described in section 2(8); 14 (2)(A) perform meaningful stakeholder outreach 15 with community-based organizations, environmental 16 justice groups, or other community members— 17 (i) to identify or design eligible projects; 18 and 19 (ii) to identify eligible entities to carry out 20 those eligible projects through the use of a 21 grant under this section; and 22 (B) compensate the community-based organiza- 23 tions, environmental justice groups, and other com- 24 munity members that respond to that outreach and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1866 IS assist or otherwise participate in an activity de- 1 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A); 2 (3) provide to eligible entities in the application 3 process and in project execution, including with re- 4 spect to identifying private and utility partner- 5 ships— 6 (A) resources to conduct community-needs 7 assessments; 8 (B) resources for planning; 9 (C) technical support; and 10 (D) case management guidance; 11 (4) design project timelines that— 12 (A) take into account stakeholder input; 13 and 14 (B) account for the additional time needed 15 to complete eligible projects in environmental 16 justice communities; 17 (5) adopt project criteria— 18 (A) to reduce the risk of gentrification of, 19 and displacement of individuals in, environ- 20 mental justice communities as a result of an eli- 21 gible project carried out using a grant provided 22 under this section; 23 (B) to increase community engagement 24 throughout the duration of an eligible project; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1866 IS (C) to increase the involvement of commu- 1 nity-based organizations and unionized labor, 2 where possible, in selecting, designing, and car- 3 rying out eligible projects; 4 (D) to prioritize investments directly into 5 environmental justice communities; 6 (E) to reduce air pollution and other im- 7 pacts from vehicles with internal combustion 8 engines in environmental justice communities; 9 and 10 (F) to encourage partnerships with utility 11 or private electric vehicle make-ready infra- 12 structure programs, as applicable; 13 (6) aim to increase wealth in environmental jus- 14 tice communities— 15 (A) through community or public owner- 16 ship of any assets of a completed eligible 17 project that are installed or developed in car- 18 rying out that eligible project; 19 (B) through the creation of employment 20 opportunities for local workers in environmental 21 justice communities; 22 (C) by encouraging eligible entities receiv- 23 ing a grant under this section to enter into 24 community benefit agreements; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1866 IS (D) by encouraging participation by local 1 small businesses, particularly minority- and 2 women-owned small businesses; and 3 (7) provide grant funds at the time of infra- 4 structure purchase to each eligible entity that re- 5 ceives a grant under this section. 6 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eligible entity that re- 7 ceives a grant under this section may use the grant funds 8 for— 9 (1) projects that develop or implement a plan to 10 install publicly available electric vehicle charging in- 11 frastructure, including— 12 (A) projects for the planning for, or instal- 13 lation of— 14 (i) electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 15 ture at grocery stores, convenience stores, 16 markets, other retail establishments, exist- 17 ing fueling stations, local government fa- 18 cilities, or office buildings or other work- 19 places; 20 (ii) fast charging hubs; 21 (iii) on-street chargers; 22 (iv) electric vehicle charging infra- 23 structure at community land trust loca- 24 tions; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1866 IS (v) electric vehicle charging infra- 1 structure at public schools and parks; 2 (B) projects for the incorporation of elec- 3 tric vehicle charging infrastructure or electric 4 vehicle make-ready infrastructure into the con- 5 struction of new buildings or other infrastruc- 6 ture; 7 (C) projects to retrofit existing buildings, 8 especially multi-unit dwellings, with electric ve- 9 hicle charging infrastructure or electric vehicle 10 make-ready infrastructure; 11 (2) projects to support shared electric mobility 12 and micromobility options, such as electric car, bike, 13 and scooter share; 14 (3) projects or rebate programs to provide an 15 electric vehicle charger and funds for the installation 16 of, and technical assistance relating to, that charger 17 to any resident of an environmental justice commu- 18 nity who— 19 (A) purchases an electric vehicle; and 20 (B) has the ability to use residential elec- 21 tric vehicle charging infrastructure; 22 (4) projects to develop and implement education 23 programs that emphasize the economic, environ- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1866 IS mental, and public health advantages of using an 1 electric vehicle, including— 2 (A) by providing information to residents 3 of an environmental justice community on the 4 usefulness of electric vehicles and electric car 5 share systems via ride and drive events; 6 (B) by developing electric vehicle dealer- 7 ship education programs; 8 (C) by developing an electric vehicle edu- 9 cational curriculum for schools; and 10 (D) by creating an electric vehicle informa- 11 tion website and printed materials for distribu- 12 tion to individuals who lack internet access that 13 may include— 14 (i) a guide to the makes and models 15 of electric vehicles in multiple languages; 16 (ii) information about the locations of 17 publicly available electric vehicle charging 18 infrastructure and directions to those loca- 19 tions; and 20 (iii) free consulting services for poten- 21 tial buyers of an electric vehicle; 22 (5) projects to transition existing vehicle fleets 23 of States and units of regional and local government 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:51 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1866.IS S1866 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1866 IS that are in use in environmental justice communities 1 to electric vehicles; 2 (6) projects to train the staff of municipalities 3 and other units of regional and local government, in- 4 cluding inspectors, on the use of electric vehicle 5 charging infrastructure; and 6 (7) any other project that, in the determination 7 of the Secretary— 8 (A) addresses known barriers to access to 9 electric vehicle charging infrastructure faced by 10 environmental justice communities, including 11 the barriers described in section 2(4); and 12 (B) satisfies any other applicable require- 13 ment that the S [Text truncated for display. 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