HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1159        FILED ON: 2/1/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3347

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Joan Meschino

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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 promoting zero-emission vehicles.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1159        FILED ON: 2/1/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3347

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act promoting zero-emission vehicles.

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: Chapter 6C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 57A the following section:-

Section 57B:

(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon registration or change of registration, the registrar of motor vehicles is authorized and directed to disclose upon request the type of vehicle and address of a registered owner for electric vehicles to a distribution company or municipal light plant if the registered address is within the relevant service territory. The information shall be simultaneously disclosed to the department of public utilities and department of energy resources.

(2) Every quarter, a distribution company or municipal lighting plant, or its agent, may request the type of vehicle and address of each electric vehicle newly registered within their service territory. Under penalty of perjury, this information may only be used for the purposes of identifying where an electric vehicle is registered and provision of information on programs for electric vehicle owners.

(3) Within 15 days of receiving residence address information from the department pursuant to this section, a distribution company or municipal lighting plant shall provide a clear, express disclosure to the electric vehicle owner that his or her residence address information is permitted by law to be shared with the distribution company or municipal lighting plant. The disclosure shall not contain marketing information or a solicitation for the purchase of goods or services, but may contain information on electricity tariffs and energy management programs.

(4) Confidential home address and type of vehicle information of electric vehicle owners disclosed pursuant to this section shall only be used for the purpose of identifying where an electric vehicle is registered and the provision of information on programs for electric vehicle owners and shall not be used or disclosed for any other purpose, including for purposes of identifying the individual or individuals residing at the address, or to any other person.

(5) The distribution company or municipal lighting plant, and its agents, shall not sell, share, or further disclose, including to any subsidiaries, the residence address or type of vehicle information of electric vehicle owners obtained pursuant to this paragraph, or name information determined by matching residence information against the corporation or utility's customer records.

SECTION 2. Not later than six months after the effective date of this act, distribution companies, as defined in section 1 of chapter 164 of the general laws, shall submit to the department of public utilities for approval proposals to offer a time-of-use rate, defined for the purposes of this section as a rate designed to reflect the cost of providing electricity to a consumer charging an electric vehicle at an electric vehicle charging station at different times of the day. Such proposals shall not include additional demand charges. Such proposals shall include a separate opt-in residential time-of-use rate for electric vehicle owners or lessees. For department approval, such proposals shall encourage energy conservation, optimal and efficient use of a distribution company’s facilities and resources, benefits to transmission and distribution systems, equitable rates for electric consumers, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Such proposals shall ensure equitable participation by all electric vehicle owners and lessees.

SECTION 3: Section 95 of chapter 142 of the session laws of 2019 is hereby amended by striking out the date “2021” in the first sentence and inserting in place thereof:- “2023” and by striking out the phrase “and not more than $5,000”; and provided further that the department shall establish a new low- and moderate-income point-of-sale rebate for new and used battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

SECTION 4: The commissioner of the department of energy resources is hereby authorized and directed to apportion proceeds from: (1) monies generated by all market-based compliance mechanism emission control programs, including, but not limited to, the cap and trade program established under the NOx Allowance Trading Program and the carbon dioxide allowance trading mechanism established under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as defined in subsection (a) of section 22 of chapter 164, or the Transportation and Climate Initiative; (2) amounts from alternative compliance payments established and administered under 225 CMR 14.00 adopted under section 11F; and (3) other funds as determined by the department of energy resources to establish a grant program providing rebates to consumers to defray the expense of the purchase or lease of a zero-emissions vehicle, or to continue and expand the Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles program, referred to hereafter as the MOR-EV program, after December 31, 2023. When initiating any new electric vehicle incentive program, including new programs and policies within MOR-EV, the department of energy resources shall: (i) provide equitable access to all Massachusetts residents, including by offering programs that target electric vehicle adoption in low-income and environmental justice populations; (ii) prioritize affordability for low-income populations and prioritize geographic equity by targeting incentives to rural communities; (iii) coordinate with vehicle dealerships to offer a direct point-of-sale rebate for both new and used electric vehicle purchases; and (iv) ensure that information about the program and its benefits are provided in a readily accessible manner to all, including non-English speaking communities. The department shall consult with a diverse range of stakeholders to inform the design of any such electric vehicle incentive program, including low-income and environmental justice populations and organizations representing their interests.

SECTION 5. Not later than six months after the effective date of this act, the department of energy resources shall publish a guide to assist cities and towns to develop programs that allow residents unable to install off-street electric vehicle charging stations to install curbside electric vehicle charging stations proximate to their residences.

SECTION 6. Not later than 6 months after the effective date of this act, the department of energy resources and department of transportation shall file a report with the joint committee on transportation identifying state routes, U.S. routes, and interstate highways in Massachusetts that are high priority for public electric vehicle charging station installation. Determinations of priority shall be based on locations with high levels of air pollution in close proximity to transportation infrastructure, locations in close proximity to environmental justice populations, high total traffic volume on the route, volume of trips on the route that exceed 50 miles, importance of the route for accessing employment centers, tourist attractions, and other frequent destinations, and other factors as detailed in the report. The report shall consider locations across the commonwealth, including within municipal light plant territories, and assess the benefit and potential cost savings to ratepayers for potential locations.

SECTION 7. Section 2 of Chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 433, after the words “section seven D.”, the following words:-

The registrar shall issue, without additional registration fees, distinctive license plates for plug-in electric vehicles upon their initial registration with the registry or upon the renewal of their registration if a plug-in electric vehicle does not yet have said license plate.

SECTION 8. Section 3 of chapter 448 of the session laws of 2016 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 3 and 4, the words “may include requirements for electric vehicle charging for residential and appropriate commercial” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- shall include requirements for electric vehicle charging for commercial and appropriate residential.

SECTION 9. Section 94 of chapter 143 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following two subsections:-

(s) In consultation with the department of energy resources, to adopt and fully integrate into the state building code requirements that new construction of commercial and residential buildings, as well as major reconstruction, renovation and repair of such buildings, include building electrical service and conduit systems sufficient to support the minimum number of electric vehicle parking spaces; provided, however, that for buildings with ten or more parking spaces the minimum number of electric vehicle-ready parking spaces shall be at least ten percent of the total number of parking spaces and the minimum number of parking spaces wired to be electric vehicle-capable shall be at least ninety percent of the total number of parking spaces; provided further that for buildings with two or more electric vehicle parking spaces, at least one electric vehicle-ready parking space or five percent of the total number of electric vehicle parking spaces shall be handicapped accessible, whichever is greater. For the purposes of this section, “electric vehicle” shall mean a battery electric vehicle that draws propulsion energy solely from an on-board electrical energy storage device during operation that is charged from an external source of electricity or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with an on-board electrical energy storage device that can be recharged from an external source of electricity which also has the capability to run on another fuel.

(t) In consultation with the department of energy resources, to adopt and fully integrate into the state building code requirements that new construction of parking facilities with ten or more parking spaces, as well as major reconstruction, renovation and repair of such facilities, include building electrical service and conduit systems sufficient to support the minimum number of electric vehicle-ready parking spaces; provided, however, that the minimum number of electric vehicle-ready parking spaces shall be at least ten percent of the total number of parking spaces and the minimum number of parking spaces wired to be electric vehicle-capable shall be at least ninety percent of the total number of parking spaces; and provided further that for facilities with two or more electric vehicle parking spaces, at least one electric vehicle-ready parking space or five percent of the total number of electric vehicle parking spaces shall be handicapped accessible, whichever is greater.