Electric Transportation Commission and National Strategy Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2040 To establish a working group on electric vehicles, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 27, 2019 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Com- merce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish a working group on electric vehicles, 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 ‘‘Electric Transpor- 4 tation Commission and National Strategy Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ELECTRIC VEHICLE WORKING GROUP. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 9 retary of Transportation and the Secretary of En- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2040 IS ergy (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secre- 1 taries’’) shall jointly establish a working group (re- 2 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘working group’’) to 3 make recommendations on the development, adop- 4 tion, and integration of electric vehicles into the 5 transportation and energy systems of the United 6 States. 7 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The working group 9 shall be composed of— 10 (i) the Secretaries (or designees), who 11 shall be co-chairs of the working group; 12 and 13 (ii) not more than 25 members to be 14 appointed by the Secretaries, of whom— 15 (I) not more than 6 shall be Fed- 16 eral stakeholders as described in sub- 17 paragraph (B); and 18 (II) not more than 19 shall be 19 non-Federal stakeholders as described 20 in subparagraph (C). 21 (B) FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—The 22 working group— 23 (i) shall include not less than 1 rep- 24 resentative of each of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2040 IS (I) the Department of Transpor- 1 tation; 2 (II) the Department of Energy; 3 (III) the Environmental Protec- 4 tion Agency; and 5 (IV) the General Services Admin- 6 istration; and 7 (ii) may include a representative of 8 any other Federal agency the Secretaries 9 consider to be appropriate. 10 (C) NON-FEDERAL STAKEHOLDERS.—The 11 working group— 12 (i) shall include not less than 1 rep- 13 resentative of each of— 14 (I) a manufacturer of electric ve- 15 hicles or the relevant components of 16 electric vehicles; 17 (II) an owner, operator, or manu- 18 facturer of electric vehicle charging 19 equipment; 20 (III) the public utility industry; 21 (IV) a public utility regulator or 22 association of public utility regulators; 23 (V) the transportation fueling 24 distribution industry; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2040 IS (VI) the energy provider indus- 1 try; 2 (VII) the automotive dealing in- 3 dustry; 4 (VIII) the passenger transpor- 5 tation industry; 6 (IX) an organization representing 7 a unit of local government; 8 (X) a regional transportation or 9 planning agency; 10 (XI) an organization representing 11 State departments of transportation; 12 (XII) an organization rep- 13 resenting State departments of energy 14 or State energy planners; 15 (XIII) an expert in intelligent 16 transportation systems and tech- 17 nologies; 18 (XIV) organized labor; 19 (XV) the trucking industry; 20 (XVI) Tribal governments; and 21 (XVII) the property development 22 industry; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2040 IS (ii) may include a representative of 1 any other non-Federal stakeholder that the 2 Secretaries consider to be appropriate. 3 (3) MEETINGS.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The working group 5 shall meet not less frequently than once every 6 120 days. 7 (B) REMOTE PARTICIPATION.—A member 8 of the working group may participate in a meet- 9 ing of the working group via teleconference or 10 similar means. 11 (b) REPORT AND STRATEGY ON ELECTRIC VEHICLE 12 ADOPTION, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CHALLENGES.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The working group shall 14 submit to Congress by each of the deadlines de- 15 scribed in paragraph (2)— 16 (A) a report on the status of electric vehi- 17 cle adoption and opportunities for and chal- 18 lenges to expanding adoption of electric vehi- 19 cles, including— 20 (i) a description of the barriers and 21 opportunities to scaling up electric vehicle 22 adoption nationwide, including issues relat- 23 ing to— 24 (I) consumer behavior; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2040 IS (II) charging infrastructure 1 needs, including standardization; 2 (III) manufacturing and battery 3 costs; 4 (IV) the adoption of electric vehi- 5 cles for low- and moderate-income in- 6 dividuals and underserved commu- 7 nities, including charging infrastruc- 8 ture access and vehicle purchase fi- 9 nancing; 10 (V) business models for charging 11 electric vehicles outside the home; 12 (VI) charging infrastructure per- 13 mitting and regulatory issues; 14 (VII) cybersecurity of charging 15 infrastructure; 16 (VIII) secondary markets and re- 17 cycling for batteries; 18 (IX) grid integration; 19 (X) energy storage; and 20 (XI) specific regional or local 21 issues that— 22 (aa) are associated with— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2040 IS (AA) the issues de- 1 scribed in subclauses (I) 2 through (X); or 3 (BB) urban or rural en- 4 vironments; and 5 (bb) may not appear nation- 6 wide, but hamper a nationwide 7 adoption or coordination of elec- 8 tric vehicles; 9 (ii) examples of successful public and 10 private models and demonstration projects 11 that encourage electric vehicle adoption; 12 and 13 (iii) an analysis of current efforts to 14 overcome the barriers described in clause 15 (i); and 16 (B) a strategy that describes how the Fed- 17 eral Government, States, units of local govern- 18 ment, and industry can— 19 (i) overcome the barriers described in 20 subparagraph (A)(i); 21 (ii) identify areas of opportunity in re- 22 search and development to improve battery 23 manufacturing, mineral mining, recycling 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2040 IS costs, material recovery, and battery per- 1 formance for electric vehicles; 2 (iii) enhance Federal interagency co- 3 ordination to promote electric vehicle adop- 4 tion; 5 (iv) promote electric vehicle knowledge 6 and expertise within State and local gov- 7 ernments; 8 (v) prepare the workforce for the 9 adoption of electric vehicles, including 10 through collaboration with labor unions, 11 colleges and other educational institutions, 12 and relevant manufacturers; 13 (vi) expand electric vehicle and charg- 14 ing infrastructure— 15 (I) knowledge and use among 16 Federal, State, and local governments, 17 school districts, and private entities; 18 and 19 (II) adoption among the fleets of 20 the entities described in subclause (I); 21 (vii) expand knowledge of the benefits 22 of electric vehicles among the general pub- 23 lic; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2040 IS (viii) maintain the global competitive- 1 ness of the United States in the electric ve- 2 hicle and charging infrastructure markets; 3 (ix) provide clarity in regulations to 4 improve national uniformity with respect to 5 electric vehicles; and 6 (x) ensure the sustainable integration 7 of electric vehicles into the national electric 8 grid. 9 (2) DEADLINES.—A report under paragraph 10 (1) shall be submitted by— 11 (A) for the first report, not later than 1 12 year after the date on which the working group 13 is established under subsection (a)(1); 14 (B) for the second report, not later than 2 15 years after the date on which the first report is 16 required to be submitted under subparagraph 17 (A); and 18 (C) for the third report, not later than 2 19 years after the date on which the second report 20 is required to be submitted under subparagraph 21 (B). 22 (c) ELECTRIC VEHICLE RESOURCE GUIDE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The working group shall de- 24 velop, publish, and update a resource guide to pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2040 IS vide information to increase knowledge about electric 1 vehicles and necessary charging infrastructure for 2 consumers, State, local, and Tribal governments (in- 3 cluding transit agencies or authorities, public tolling 4 authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, 5 public utility commissions, and public service compa- 6 nies), and businesses that sell motor vehicles. 7 (2) INCLUSIONS.—A resource guide under para- 8 graph (1) shall include— 9 (A) information on— 10 (i) the general characteristics of elec- 11 tric vehicles (including passenger vehicles, 12 electric vehicles for public transportation, 13 school buses, and electric vehicles for com- 14 mercial use); and 15 (ii) the types of charging solutions 16 available to consumers, including, to the 17 maximum extent practicable, a digitally ac- 18 cessible compilation of existing mapping of 19 publicly available charging stations in the 20 United States; 21 (B) information on electrifying business 22 and government vehicle fleets; 23 (C) information on Federal grant pro- 24 grams available to State and local governments 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2040 IS for the purchase of electric vehicles for public 1 transportation; 2 (D) a description of current financial and 3 nonfinancial incentives for electric vehicles; and 4 (E) any other information that— 5 (i) a representative of industry or 6 State or local government requests to be 7 included; and 8 (ii) the working group determines to 9 be appropriate. 10 (3) USE OF EXISTING GUIDES.—In developing, 11 publishing, and maintaining the resource guide 12 under paragraph (1), the working group shall con- 13 sider existing Federal, State, local, private sector, 14 and academic guides relating to electric vehicles and, 15 to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate with 16 the entities publishing those guides— 17 (A) to prevent duplication of efforts by the 18 Federal Government; and 19 (B) to leverage existing complementary ef- 20 forts. 21 (4) RESOURCE GUIDE OUTREACH.—The work- 22 ing group shall conduct outreach to consumers, 23 State, local, and Tribal governments (including tran- 24 sit agencies or authorities, public tolling authorities, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2040 IS metropolitan planning organizations, public utility 1 commissions, and public service companies), and 2 businesses that sell motor vehicles via the internet, 3 social media, and other methods— 4 (A) to provide the resource guide under 5 paragraph (1) to interested stakeholders, in- 6 cluding relevant consumer groups and transpor- 7 tation-related organizations; 8 (B) to promote the use of electric vehicles 9 in both government and industry fleets; and 10 (C) to educate individuals involved in the 11 sale of motor vehicles about the benefits of elec- 12 tric vehicles. 13 (5) SUBSEQUENT RESOURCE GUIDES.—Not less 14 frequently than every 2 years for the duration of the 15 working group, the working group shall publish an 16 update to the resource guide under paragraph (1), 17 as appropriate based on technological innovation and 18 subsequent information. 19 (6) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Secretaries shall each 20 maintain the resource guide under paragraph (1) on 21 a designated website, which may be an existing 22 website, of each Secretary relating to electric vehi- 23 cles. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2040 IS (d) COORDINATION.—To the maximum extent prac- 1 ticable, the Secretaries and the working group shall carry 2 out this section using all available existing resources, 3 websites, and databases of Federal agencies, such as the 4 Alternative Fuels Data Center. 5 (e) FUNDING.—The Secretaries shall carry out this 6 section using existing funds made available to the Secre- 7 taries and not otherwise obligated. 8 (f) TERMINATION.—The working group shall termi- 9 nate on the date on which the third report under sub- 10 section (b) is submitted. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Jul 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2040.IS S2040 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS