SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1785        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1923

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael J. Barrett

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to advance electric vehicle adoption.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1785        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1923

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

An Act to advance electric vehicle adoption.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 9A of chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last 4 paragraphs and inserting in place thereof the following 3 paragraphs:

The commonwealth shall ensure that 50 per cent of the motor vehicles owned or leased by the commonwealth in the state fleet, including vehicles owned or leased by quasi-public agencies, shall be zero emission vehicles by June 30, 2025. “Zero emission vehicle” shall mean a battery electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle. In reaching that requirement, the secretary shall prioritize for electrification any vehicles cited as medium or high priority by the study commissioned by section 6 of chapter 448 of the acts of 2016.

The secretary shall submit to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on transportation a statement annually, not later than July 1, detailing the progress made in meeting the requirements of this section. The report shall include: (i) a complete listing of vehicles leased, owned or assigned to each agency; and (ii) a description of each vehicle, including the year, make and model, whether the vehicle is powered by an internal combustion engine, a mild hybrid engine, a plug-in hybrid motor, a fully battery electric motor, a hydrogen fuel cell electric motor, a compressed liquefied natural gas engine, a propane engine or other means of propulsion. If a zero emission vehicle is not purchased or leased, the secretary shall provide, in each instance, a specific explanation as to why a zero emission vehicle could not have sufficiently fulfilled the intended functions.

Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the secretary shall ensure that 100 per cent of new motor vehicles purchased or leased each year by the commonwealth shall be zero emission vehicles. The secretary shall provide a written report to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on transportation annually, not later than July 1, explaining in detail all instances where a zero emission vehicle was not purchased or leased and the reasons therefor.

SECTION 2.  Section 16 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “section”,  in line 1, the following words:- “and section 17”

SECTION 3.  Said chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 17.  (a) The commissioner shall establish a program providing rebates to consumers who purchase or lease an electric vehicle, hereinafter called the electric vehicle incentive program.  The initial rebate shall be $5,000, provided, that electric vehicles qualifying for rebates under this section shall be manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads and highways, shall not be modified from the original manufacturer’s specification, and shall have been acquired for use or lease by the consumer and not for resale.  The commissioner may include fuel cell vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles in the electric vehicle incentive program. 

(b) Rebates issued under this section shall be funded by proceeds deposited in the RGGI Auction Trust Fund, established in Section 35II of Chapter 10 of the general laws.  Rebates issued under this section may be funded by other sources, including appropriations. 

(c) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to administer the rebate programs established in this section. Once every calendar year, the commissioner shall notify consumers in predominately low-income communities about the electric vehicle incentive program.  The commissioner shall review the rules and regulations of both programs every two years.

SECTION 4. Section 6 of chapter 64H of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-

(yy) Sales of an electric vehicle charging station, as defined in section 16 of chapter 25A, or individual replacement components of an electric vehicle charging station.

SECTION 5.  Subsection (yy) of said section 6 of said chapter 64H, is hereby repealed.

SECTION 6.  Section 3 of chapter 448 of the acts of 2016 is hereby amended by striking out in the first sentence the word “may” and inserting in its place the following word:- shall.

SECTION 7.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the state board of building regulation and standards established pursuant to section 93 of chapter 143 of the General Laws, in consultation with the department of energy resources, shall require that all public parking garages or lots with a capacity of 15 or more automobiles install at least 1 electric vehicle charging station for every 5 parking spaces as amendments to the state building and electric code.  

SECTION 8. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, not later than one year after the effective date of this act, the department of energy resources shall publish a guide to assist cities and towns in developing processes and policies for electric vehicle parking in municipally-owned parking spaces and lots, to include, but not be limited to, free parking for electric vehicles and reserved parking for electric vehicles.  The guide shall include a review of similar programs in place from across the county.  

SECTION 9. The secretary of transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority control board established in section 200 of chapter 46 of the acts of 2015, in consultation with the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, shall develop and complete a detailed plan for the full electrification of all of the authority’s passenger vehicles, including buses, ferries and commuter rail lines. The plan for electrification of the commuter rail shall include the procurement by purchase, lease or other method of electric locomotives, electric multiple unit equipment or a combination of both. The plan shall include the design and construction of high level platforms at all stations on each line. The overall plan shall include a detailed project schedule including all necessary procurement activities, leading to all of the authority’s passenger vehicles being electric by December 31, 2030. The plan shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on  transportation and shall be made publicly available on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s website not later than December 31, 2021.

SECTION 10.  Amendments to the state building and electric code required by sections 6 and 7 of this act shall be in effect no later than January 1, 2021.

SECTION 11.  Section 5 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2030.