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SB-823 Discounted electric vehicle charging payment card competitive grant program.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 05/01/2023 02:00 PM
SB823:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  May 01, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  April 12, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 823

Introduced by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas
(Coauthor: Senator Min)

February 17, 2023

An act to add Section 25231.7 to the Public Resources Code, and to add Section 913.16 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation electrification.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 823, as amended, Smallwood-Cuevas. Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Programs. electric vehicle charging payment card competitive grant program.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to undertake various actions in furtherance of meeting the state’s clean energy and pollution reduction objectives, including actions related to electric vehicles. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, working with the State Air Resources Board (state board) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), to prepare a statewide assessment of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure needed to support the levels of electric vehicle adoption required for the state to meet its goals of putting at least 5,000,000 zero-emission vehicles on California roads by 2030, and of reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the Energy Commission, state board, electrical corporations, and the motor vehicle industry, to evaluate policies to develop infrastructure sufficient to overcome any barriers to the widespread deployment and use of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
This bill would would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Energy Commission, in consultation with the PUC, state board, and California Integrated Travel Project, to require each operator of a publicly available electric vehicle charging station that elects to participate or receives moneys from a state program, state agency, county, municipality, electrical corporation, or community choice aggregator to deploy a publicly available electric vehicle charging station to establish a Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Program that would enable an eligible resident, as defined, to use any of the operator’s competitive grant program to award moneys for projects that provide an eligible resident, as described, with a payment card that may be used at any publicly available electric vehicle charging stations located anywhere in the state using a payment card distributed by the operator, station, as specified. The bill would require that the rate charged for the use of a publicly available electric vehicle charging station pursuant to a program be equivalent to the residential electric vehicle tariff rate, or the lowest electricity rate offered to ratepayers who own electric vehicles, by the utility with jurisdiction over the service area in which the charging station is located, the Energy Commission to prioritize projects with the greatest potential to provide payment cards to individuals enrolled in a low-income residential customer electrical rate assistance program and to establish criteria for awarding a grant pursuant to the program, as specified. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to select an administrator to oversee the program and to adopt, and revise, guidelines or other standards for the program. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before March 1, 2025, 15 months after the program is established, and annually thereafter, to prepare and submit to the Governor and Legislature a report that includes specified information relating to the programs, and would authorize the Energy Commission to require those operators to submit relevant information for purposes of the report to provide oversight of the programs. program.

The bill would require the PUC’s Low-Income Oversight Board, on or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Energy Commission certain information and make recommendations related to the programs, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission to include the Low-Income Oversight Board’s information and recommendations in its annual report described above.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 25231.7 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

25231.7.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“Community choice aggregator” has the meaning as defined in Section 331.1 of the Public Utilities Code.

(2)

(1) “Eligible resident” means an individual eligible to receive a payment card pursuant to subdivision (c).

(3)“Multiunit dwelling” means two or more dwelling units within a single building or within two or more buildings on a site or parcel, including, but not limited to, garden apartments, senior housing developments, and multistory apartment and condominium buildings.

(4)“Participating operator” means an operator of a publicly available electric vehicle charging station that elects or is required to establish a program pursuant to subdivision (d).

(5)

(2) “Payment card” means a discounted electric vehicle charging payment card distributed by a participating operator provided for purposes of its the program.

(6)

(3) “Program” means each Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Program. the competitive grant program established pursuant to subdivision (b).

(7)

(4) “Publicly available electric vehicle charging station” has the same meaning as defined in Section 44268 of the Health and Safety Code.

(8)“Underserved community” has the same meaning as defined in Section 1601 of the Public Utilities Code.

(9)“Utility” means any of the following:

(A)An electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code.

(B)A local publicly owned electric utility, as defined in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

(C)A community choice aggregator.

(b) (1)The Upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of developing and implementing the program, the commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission, State Air Resources Board, and California Integrated Travel Project, shall require each participating operator, within six months after becoming a participating operator, to establish a Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Program that will enable an eligible resident to use any of the participating operator’s publicly available electric vehicle charging stations located anywhere in the state using a payment card. establish a competitive grant program to award moneys for projects that provide an eligible resident with a payment card that may be used at any publicly available electric vehicle charging station.

(2)Each participating operator shall begin distributing payment cards within one year of becoming a participating operator.

(c) The commission shall adopt project and eligibility guidelines for the program consistent with all of the following:

(c)

(1) A California resident whose household income is at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level and who does not have access to a functioning electric vehicle charger at their residence shall be eligible to receive a payment card.

(1)A resident of a multiunit dwelling does not have access to a functioning electric vehicle charger at their residence if, pursuant to the table below, the multiunit dwelling does not have at least the specified number of functioning electric vehicle charging stations based on its total actual parking spaces:

Total Actual Parking Spaces at the Multiunit DwellingFunctioning Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
0 to 9, inclusive1
10 to 25, inclusive2
26 to 50, inclusive3
51 to 75, inclusive5
76 to 100, inclusive6
101 to 150, inclusive8
151 to 200, inclusive10
201 or more6 percent of those parking spaces

(2)A disabled person who is issued a distinguishing license plate or placard for parking purposes pursuant to Section 22511.5 of the Vehicle Code does not have access to a functioning electric vehicle charger at their residence if the disabled person resides in a multiunit dwelling and none of the multiunit dwelling’s functioning electric vehicle charging stations are accessible to the disabled person.

(d)(1)An operator of a publicly available electric vehicle charging station may elect to establish a program pursuant to subdivision (b).

(2)An operator of a publicly available electric vehicle charging station that receives moneys from a state program, state agency, county, municipality, electrical corporation, or community choice aggregator to deploy a publicly available electric vehicle charging station shall, as a condition of receiving those moneys, establish a program pursuant to subdivision (b).

(e)(1)(A)An eligible resident who is using a payment card to use the participating operator’s publicly available electric vehicle charging station shall pay a rate equivalent to the lower of the following, as applicable:

(i)The residential electric vehicle tariff rate of the utility with jurisdiction over the service area in which the publicly available electric vehicle charging station is located.

(ii)The lowest electricity rate offered to ratepayers who own electric vehicles, including based on time of use, by the utility with jurisdiction over the service area in which the publicly available electric vehicle charging station is located.

(B)For purposes of this paragraph, if a publicly available electric vehicle charging station is located within a portion of the service area of an electrical corporation in which a community choice aggregator provides electrical service, the community choice aggregator has jurisdiction over that portion of the service area.

(2)An eligible resident who is using a payment card and whose income would qualify them as a California Alternate Rates for Energy Program customer or Family Electric Rate Assistance Program customer shall receive the same rate discount received through participation in that program when the eligible resident uses the payment card.

(f)A participating operator shall, consistent with Section 25231.5, prioritize publicly available electric vehicle charging station uptime in underserved communities.

(2) The commission shall prioritize projects with the greatest potential to provide payment cards to individuals enrolled in a low-income residential customer electrical rate assistance program, including, but not limited to, the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program established pursuant to Section 739.1 of the Public Utilities Code and the Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program established pursuant to Section 739.12 of the Public Utilities Code.
(3) The commission shall establish criteria for awarding a grant pursuant to the program, including, but not limited to, requirements on the discounts provided to a participating eligible resident through a payment card.
(4) The commission may select an administrator to oversee the program.

(g)

(d) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before March 1, 2025, 15 months after the program is established, and annually thereafter, the commission shall prepare and submit to the Governor and Legislature a report that includes all of the following:
(A) A detailed overview of the implementation and status of the programs, with participant profile statistics for that year, program, including the total number of applicants, the total number of participating eligible residents, the total kilowatt hours served to participating eligible residents, participating eligible residents’ utility service areas, the geographic locations of projects for which grants were awarded, a list of the grants awarded, and the estimated annual fuel cost savings for participating eligible residents.

(B)A detailed list of the participating operators.

(C)

(B) The total number of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations available for use under a the program.

(D)The total number and uptime of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations available for use under a program that are located in underserved communities.

(C) A summary of the barriers encountered in establishing or implementing the program and recommendations for opportunities for the program to better support affordable charging for electric vehicle owners who rely on publicly available electric vehicle charging stations.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(3)The commission shall include the Public Utilities Commission’s Low-Income Oversight Board’s annual report submitted to the commission pursuant to Section 913.16 of the Public Utilities Code as an appendix in the report.

(h)For purposes of the report prepared and submitted pursuant to subdivision (g) and to provide oversight of the programs, the commission may require participating operators to submit relevant information to the commission.

(e) To implement the program, the commission may adopt, and revise, guidelines or other standards at a commission business meeting. Before adopting or revising the guidelines or other standards, the commission shall provide an opportunity for public comment and at least one public workshop.

SEC. 2.Section 913.16 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:
913.16.

On or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the Low-Income Oversight Board shall annually submit to the Energy Commission, for inclusion in the report prepared and submitted pursuant to Section 25231.7 of the Public Resources Code, a report that includes both of the following:

(a)The number of eligible residents, as defined in Section 25231.7 of the Public Resources Code, who received a payment card through a Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Program pursuant to Section 25231.7 of the Public Resources Code and who reside in an underserved community, as defined in Section 1601.

(b)Recommendations for how to improve participation by, and benefits accrued to, low-income residents through Discounted Electric Vehicle Charging Payment Card Programs established pursuant to Section 25231.7 of the Public Resources Code.