Electric Vehicles for Underserved Communities Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5751 To increase deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in low- income communities and communities of color, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 4, 2020 Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Ms. MOORE, Mr. SOTO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Ms. JAYAPAL) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To increase deployment of electric vehicle charging infra- structure in low-income communities and communities of color, 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 Vehicles for 4 Underserved Communities Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5751 IH (1) The transportation sector is the largest sin- 1 gle source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United 2 States. 3 (2) The transportation sector is also a major 4 source of air pollution in the United States, includ- 5 ing over 55 percent of total nitrogen oxide emissions, 6 leading to poor air quality and negative health im- 7 pacts, particularly in urban areas. 8 (3) Increasing the deployment of electric vehi- 9 cles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure is an 10 essential component of combating climate change, 11 decarbonizing the economy, and reducing greenhouse 12 gas emissions and health-harming air pollution in 13 the United States. 14 (4) Industries relating to electric vehicles, elec- 15 tric vehicle charging infrastructure, and the larger 16 clean energy economy are substantial and diverse 17 sources of good jobs and significant contributors to 18 economic growth. 19 (5) A substantial increase in electric vehicle 20 charging infrastructure within urban areas will en- 21 sure that our cities are ready to meet the demands 22 of expected electric vehicle deployment in the short- 23 term and long-term. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5751 IH (6) Low-income communities and communities 1 of color bear disproportionate climate change and 2 pollution burdens, and therefore, these communities 3 must be among the first to receive investment relat- 4 ing to new technologies and infrastructure that ad- 5 dress the climate crisis and mitigate localized envi- 6 ronmental pollution. 7 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING IN- 8 FRASTRUCTURE IN URBAN AREAS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 10 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall conduct 11 an assessment of the state of, challenges to, and op- 12 portunities for the deployment of electric vehicle 13 charging infrastructure in urban areas, particularly 14 in underserved or disadvantaged communities. 15 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 17 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com- 18 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com- 19 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen- 20 ate a report on the results of the assessment con- 21 ducted under paragraph (1), which shall— 22 (A) describe the state of deployment with 23 respect to electric vehicle charging infrastruc- 24 ture in major urban areas throughout the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5751 IH United States, particularly in underserved or 1 disadvantaged communities, including— 2 (i) with respect to Level 2 charging 3 stations and DC Fast charging stations— 4 (I) the number of existing and 5 planned stations per capita for charg- 6 ing individually owned light-duty and 7 medium-duty vehicles; 8 (II) the number of existing and 9 planned stations for charging public 10 and private fleet vehicles, rideshare 11 vehicles, and medium-duty and heavy- 12 duty equipment and vehicles; and 13 (III) the number of stations in- 14 stalled in multi-unit dwellings or 15 available to occupants of multi-unit 16 dwellings; 17 (IV) ownership models for sta- 18 tions located in publicly owned and 19 privately owned residential multi-unit 20 dwellings, commercial buildings, pub- 21 lic and private parking areas, and 22 curbside locations; 23 (V) how such stations are fi- 24 nanced; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5751 IH (VI) the rates charged at such 1 stations; and 2 (ii) policies, plans, and programs that 3 cities, States, utilities, and private entities 4 are using to encourage greater deployment 5 of electric vehicles and associated electric 6 vehicle charging infrastructure; 7 (B) identify the current barriers to ex- 8 panding deployment of electric vehicle charging 9 infrastructure in urban areas, particularly in 10 underserved or disadvantaged communities, in- 11 cluding any challenges relating to charging in- 12 frastructure deployment in publicly owned and 13 privately owned multi-unit dwellings; 14 (C) identify and analyze the policies and 15 procedures used by State and local governments 16 and private entities to increase deployment of 17 electric vehicle charging infrastructure in urban 18 areas, particularly in underserved or disadvan- 19 taged communities, including with respect to— 20 (i) public outreach and engagement 21 strategy; and 22 (ii) increasing deployment of charging 23 infrastructure in publicly owned and pri- 24 vately owned multi-unit dwellings; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5751 IH (D) identify the number of electric vehicle 1 charging stations per capita at locations within 2 each major urban area in the United States 3 with detail at the level of zip codes and census 4 tracts; and 5 (E) describe the methodology used to ob- 6 tain the information in the report. 7 (3) METHODOLOGY.—Not later than 90 days 8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 9 retary shall report to the Committee on Energy and 10 Commerce in the House of Representatives and the 11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 12 Senate on the methodology that will be used to con- 13 duct the assessment under paragraph (1) and 14 produce the report under paragraph (2). 15 (b) FIVE-YEAR UPDATE ASSESSMENT.—Not later 16 than five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 17 the Secretary shall— 18 (1) update the assessment conducted under 19 subsection (a)(1); and 20 (2) make public and submit to the Committee 21 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 22 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat- 23 ural Resources of the Senate a report, which shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5751 IH (A) update the information described in 1 subsection (a)(2); and 2 (B) include a description of case studies 3 and key lessons learned after the report under 4 subsection (a)(2) was submitted with respect to 5 expanding the deployment of electric vehicle 6 charging infrastructure in urban areas, particu- 7 larly in underserved or disadvantaged commu- 8 nities. 9 SEC. 4. ENSURING PROGRAM BENEFITS FOR UNDER- 10 SERVED AND DISADVANTAGED COMMU- 11 NITIES. 12 In administering a relevant program, the Secretary 13 shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that such program 14 provides access to electric vehicle infrastructure, addresses 15 clean transportation needs, and provides improved air 16 quality in underserved or disadvantaged communities. 17 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 18 In this Act: 19 (1) ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRA- 20 STRUCTURE.—The term ‘‘electric vehicle charging 21 infrastructure’’ means electric vehicle supply equip- 22 ment, including any conductors, electric vehicle con- 23 nectors, attachment plugs, and all other fittings, de- 24 vices, power outlets, or apparatuses installed specifi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5751 IH cally for the purposes of delivering energy to an elec- 1 tric vehicle. 2 (2) MAJOR URBAN AREA.—The term ‘‘major 3 urban area’’ means a metropolitan statistical area 4 within the United States with an estimated popu- 5 lation that is greater than or equal to 1,500,000. 6 (3) RELEVANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘relevant 7 program’’ means a program of the Department of 8 Energy, including— 9 (A) the State energy program under part 10 D of title III the Energy Policy and Conserva- 11 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.); 12 (B) the Clean Cities program; 13 (C) the Energy Efficiency and Conserva- 14 tion Block Grant Program established under 15 section 542 of the Energy Independence and 16 Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17152); 17 (D) loan guarantees made pursuant to title 18 XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 19 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.); and 20 (E) such other programs as the Secretary 21 determines appropriate. 22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of Energy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5751 IH (5) UNDERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COM- 1 MUNITY.—The term ‘‘underserved or disadvantaged 2 community’’ means a community located in a zip 3 code within a census tract that is identified as— 4 (A) a low-income urban community; 5 (B) an urban community of color; 6 (C) having a significantly low number of 7 electric vehicle charging stations per capita; or 8 (D) any other urban community that the 9 Secretary determines is disproportionately vul- 10 nerable to, or bears a disproportionate burden 11 of, any combination of economic, social, and en- 12 vironmental stressors. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Feb 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5751.IH H5751 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS