Section 16 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as amended by sections 38 and 39 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-

(g) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department shall establish safety standards and regulations for electric vehicle charging stations and public electric vehicle charging stations that shall include, but not be limited to:

(i) accessibility and availability to the public in urban, suburban and rural areas;

(ii) security involving charging stations including: lighting, siting, visibility from onlookers, emergency call boxes, fire prevention and video surveillance;

(iii) locating charging stations within open areas and accessible to emergency assistance;

(iv) that electric vehicle charging stations are accurately marked;

(v) all electric vehicle charging stations are in a state of good repair;

(vi) requiring qualifications for technicians who install and maintain charging stations;

(vii) certification procedures for charging equipment;

(viii) the number of charging ports, types of charging connectors and the supporting power levels of charging stations;

(ix) payment methods at charging stations; and

(x) the privacy of customer data and preventing the tampering and illegal surveillance of payment devices.

The department shall take into consideration the initial assessment by the intergovernmental coordinating council established in subsection (d) of section 81 of chapter 179 of the acts of 2022 when establishing safety standards and regulations for electric vehicle charging stations.