EV Freedom Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5770 To establish a national network of electric vehicle charging stations, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure, 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 establish a national network of electric vehicle charging stations, 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 Vehicle Free- 4 dom Act’’ or the ‘‘EV Freedom Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5770 IH (1) Electric vehicles will play an important role 1 in transitioning to a cleaner transportation system 2 that protects Americans’ health and our planet. Ac- 3 cording to the United States Department of Energy, 4 electric vehicles ‘‘produce fewer emissions that con- 5 tribute to climate change and smog than conven- 6 tional vehicles.’’ 7 (2) Electric vehicles are becoming more popular 8 among American consumers. United States sales of 9 electric vehicles increased 27 percent between 2016 10 and 2017, and 81 percent between 2017 and 2018. 11 (3) Access to electric vehicle charging stations 12 is currently insufficient to meet consumer demand. 13 According to the National Renewable Energy Lab- 14 oratory, ‘‘two key areas of needed improvement in 15 actual vehicle charging are speed (reducing battery 16 charging times) and coverage (having adequate and 17 accessible charging stations)’’. 18 (4) Demand for publicly accessible electric vehi- 19 cle chargers is projected to grow. At the end of 20 2017, there were an estimated 17,000 electric vehi- 21 cle direct current fast charging stations with 55,000 22 electric vehicle direct current fast charging plugs 23 available in the United States. Estimates by the Na- 24 tional Renewable Energy Laboratory suggest that, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5770 IH by 2050, between 106,000 and 138,000 stations 1 with 343,000 and 447,000 plugs could be needed to 2 meet consumer demand. 3 (5) Failure to expand access to publicly acces- 4 sible electric vehicle chargers will prevent the wider 5 adoption of electric vehicles and, therefore, hinder 6 progress towards a more sustainable transportation 7 system. According to a study produced by the Michi- 8 gan Energy Office and Michigan State University, 9 ‘‘limited charging infrastructure for electric vehicles 10 has been one of the main barriers in adopting these 11 vehicles’’. 12 (6) Expediting the wider adoption of electric ve- 13 hicles will require considerable changes to consumer 14 behavior, which will not be possible without the cre- 15 ation of necessary infrastructure. According to a 16 study produced by the Transportation Research 17 Board and National Research Council, ‘‘adoption 18 and diffusion of new innovations can be a long-term, 19 complicated process that is especially slow for prod- 20 ucts that cost tens of thousands of dollars and where 21 consumers have questions about infrastructure avail- 22 ability, resale value, and other variables’’, and ‘‘a 23 perception of a lack of public charging infrastructure 24 might hinder [plug-in electric vehicle] deployment.’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5770 IH Thus, greatly expanding access to publicly accessible 1 electric vehicle chargers will be essential to changing 2 consumer behavior radically and, accordingly, accel- 3 erating the wider adoption of electric vehicles. 4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab- 5 lish a network of electric vehicle charging stations along 6 eligible roads so that the United States may lead the world 7 in protecting the environment while improving consumer 8 experiences. The implementation of this Act will encourage 9 the widespread adoption of light-, medium-, and heavy- 10 duty electric vehicles by— 11 (1) eliminating ‘‘range anxiety’’; 12 (2) allowing drivers to charge vehicles more 13 quickly; and 14 (3) ensuring that vehicle charging is equitably 15 accessible and reasonably priced, enabling long-dis- 16 tance travel along eligible roads. 17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 18 (1) ELIGIBLE ROAD.—The term ‘‘eligible road’’ 19 means a road that— 20 (A) is part of the National Highway Sys- 21 tem (as such term is defined in section 101 of 22 title 23, United States Code); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5770 IH (B) is a public road (as such term is de- 1 fined in section 101 of title 23, United States 2 Code). 3 (2) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE EVSE.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘publicly 5 available EVSE’’ means electric vehicle supply 6 equipment and any associated parking spaces 7 designated by the property owner or lessee to be 8 available to, and accessible by, the public for 9 any period of time, including electric vehicle 10 supply equipment and associated parking spaces 11 located in garages or gated facilities if any 12 member of the public can obtain vehicular ac- 13 cess to the facility for free or through payment 14 of a fee. 15 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘publicly 16 available EVSE’’ does not include electric vehi- 17 cle supply equipment and any associated park- 18 ing spaces in a workplace if the electric vehicle 19 supply equipment and associated parking spaces 20 are clearly marked and operated as available ex- 21 clusively to employees or contracted drivers. 22 (3) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE.—The term 23 ‘‘renewable energy source’’ means a renewable 24 source of generated energy, including the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5770 IH (A) Solar, including electricity. 1 (B) Wind. 2 (C) Ocean, including tidal, wave, current, 3 and thermal. 4 (D) Geothermal, including electricity and 5 heat pumps. 6 (E) New hydroelectric generation capacity 7 achieved from increased efficiency or additions 8 of new capacity at an existing hydroelectric 9 project after January 1, 1999. 10 SEC. 3. NATIONAL NETWORK OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE 11 CHARGING STATIONS ALONG ELIGIBLE 12 ROADS. 13 (a) PLAN.—The Secretary of Transportation, in co- 14 ordination with the Secretary of Energy, shall devise a 15 plan to create a network of publicly available EVSE along 16 eligible roads. 17 (b) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor- 19 tation and the Secretary of Energy shall submit the plan 20 to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Mi- 21 nority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Major- 22 ity Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Sen- 23 ate, and the Chairs and Ranking Members of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5770 IH (1) the Committee on Transportation and In- 1 frastructure of the House of Representatives; 2 (2) the Committee on Environment and Public 3 Works of the Senate; 4 (3) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 5 the House of Representatives; 6 (4) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 7 sources of the Senate; 8 (5) the Subcommittee on Transportation, Hous- 9 ing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies 10 of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 11 Representatives; 12 (6) the Subcommittee on Transportation, Hous- 13 ing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies 14 of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 15 (7) the Subcommittee on Energy and Water 16 Development, and Related Agencies of the Com- 17 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent- 18 atives; and 19 (8) the Subcommittee on Energy and Water 20 Development of the Committee on Appropriations of 21 the Senate. 22 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary of Transpor- 23 tation and the Secretary of Energy shall consider the fol- 24 lowing in developing the plan: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5770 IH (1) The distance between publicly available 1 EVSE locations. 2 (2) Connections to the electric grid, including 3 electric distribution upgrades that account for charg- 4 ing during peaking periods, and plans for the use of 5 renewable energy sources to power charging and en- 6 ergy storage. 7 (3) The ability to incorporate technologies not 8 yet invented or technically feasible, or infrastructure 9 that can allow the addition of new capabilities and 10 functionalities as they become available. 11 (4) The number of charging stations at each 12 publicly available EVSE location, accounting for 13 dense corridors where multiple stations or a greater 14 number of charging ports at the location are nec- 15 essary and for rural corridors where special consid- 16 erations will need to be made for less dense corridors 17 that will still require publicly available EVSE place- 18 ment. 19 (5) The placement of publicly available EVSE 20 within parking facilities and other locations, includ- 21 ing recommendations for promoting efficient dwell 22 times based on best practices. 23 (6) The availability of onsite amenities for vehi- 24 cle operators, including restrooms or food facilities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5770 IH (7) The long-term operation and maintenance 1 of publicly available EVSE, including consideration 2 of the need for expanded capacity resulting from in- 3 creasing demand into the future, to avoid stranded 4 assets and protect the investment of public funds in 5 that infrastructure. 6 (8) A maximum distance for publicly available 7 EVSE placement off of eligible roads. 8 (9) Existing private as well as national, State, 9 local, Tribal, and territorial government electric 10 charging infrastructure incentives and programs, in- 11 cluding alternative fueling corridor networks. 12 (10) Pricing guidelines that enable operators of 13 publicly available EVSE to allow free charging or 14 impose a fee for charging, promoting a consistent, 15 reliable consumer charging and payment experience. 16 (11) Publicly available EVSE placement and 17 construction in communities in which climate 18 change, pollution, or environmental destruction have 19 exacerbated systemic racial, regional, social, environ- 20 mental, and economic injustices by disproportion- 21 ately affecting indigenous peoples, communities of 22 color, migrant communities, deindustrialized commu- 23 nities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5770 IH income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, 1 people with disabilities, or youth. 2 (d) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the plan, the 3 Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Energy 4 shall consult with stakeholders, including the following: 5 (1) Federal partners, including the Secretary of 6 the Interior and the Administrator of the Environ- 7 mental Protection Agency. 8 (2) State, local, Tribal, and territorial govern- 9 ments, including State air quality and utility regu- 10 lators. 11 (3) Metropolitan planning organizations. 12 (4) Unionized labor groups. 13 (5) Environmental and environmental justice 14 organizations. 15 (6) Automobile and truck manufacturers. 16 (7) Electric utilities. 17 (8) Infrastructure providers. 18 (9) Technology providers. 19 (10) Software and network services providers. 20 (11) Infrastructure construction and component 21 parts suppliers. 22 (12) Multi-State and regional entities. 23 (13) Fuel station owners and operators. 24 (14) Fleet owners. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5770 IH (15) Fleet managers. 1 SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD REPORT ON 2 FINANCING THE PLACEMENT OF ELECTRIC 3 VEHICLE CHARGERS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 5 shall commission the Transportation Research Board of 6 the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on 7 options for financing the placement of publicly available 8 EVSE along eligible roads that includes consideration of 9 financial instruments and optimization of public-private 10 partnerships. 11 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall submit to Con- 12 gress the study commissioned under subsection (a) not 13 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 14 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF NETWORK OF ELECTRIC VEHI- 15 CLE CHARGERS ALONG ELIGIBLE ROADS. 16 (a) PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 5 years 17 after the date of enactment of this Act, using the plan 18 developed pursuant to section 3 and the recommendations 19 in the report described in section 4, the Secretary of 20 Transportation and the Secretary of Energy shall com- 21 plete the establishment of a national network of publicly 22 available EVSE. 23 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Feb 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5770.IH H5770 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5770 IH (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 3 years 1 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 2 retary of Transportation in coordination with the 3 Secretary of Energy shall establish a competitive 4 grant program to award grants to eligible entities to 5 implement the plan developed in section 3 of this 6 Act. 7 (2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 8 grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall 9 submit to the Secretary of Transportation and the 10 Secretary of Energy an application at such tim [Text truncated for display. 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