Advocacy News – June 10, 2021
On Tuesday, the House Energy Committee held testimony on a bipartisan five-bill package that focuses on supporting the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations in the state.
Under one bill, HB 4804, the state would be allowed to enter leases with private vendors at certain state rest areas to install charging stations. Under his bill, such stations could currently only be installed on rest areas of off-state roads, as Federal restrictions prevent the state from placing for-profit recharging stations in rest areas off interstate highways like I-75 and I-94. It is not clear how many rest areas qualify under the parameters of this legislation.
Other bills in the package include HB 4801, which would provide for the registration procedure for electric vehicle charging stations. HB 4802 would provide for the licensing of electric vehicle charging station operators. HB 4803 would modify permit requirements for electric vehicle charging stations. HB 4805 would exclude the electric vehicle charging station in the definition of service plaza. The rationale behind HB 4805 is the fact that state law prohibits the reselling, for-profit, of electricity and so this bill would allow this to take place without an electric vehicle charging services provider being considered a utility.
Currently, the Michigan Chamber is not taking a position on the bills, but is monitoring them closely. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to Mike Alaimo at malaimo@michamber.com.