Over the course of 2023, Washington’s recently established Interagency Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council (EVCC) drafted and conducted stakeholder input on a state transportation electrification plan. In November 2023, the Council adopted a final Transportation Electrification Strategy and a set of recommended 2024 legislative actions.

SB 6304, from Sen. Marko Liias (D–Edmonds), resulted from the Council’s efforts and proposes several measures from the strategy. The bill directs the Dept. of Commerce (Commerce) to develop recommendations to the legislature on a variety of topics, including:

• Maximum timelines for EV charging infrastructure project permitting.
• Streamlined reporting requirements for electric utilities’ transportation electrification efforts.
• Extending right-to-charge policies to tenants and homeowners outside of common interest communities.
• Reliability standards for publicly available and shared use electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Commerce must still distribute model ordinances and development regulations and guidance to local governments for siting and installing electric vehicle infrastructure. The bill requires Commerce to do so by the end of 2025 and every five years thereafter.

A section of the bill impacts municipal utilities by:

• Removing the requirement that a utility’s transportation electrification plan (TEP) not increase costs to ratepayers over .025%.
• Adding that a utility’s investments in a TEP must:
  • Prioritize implementation strategies including, but not limited to:
    • Residential and fleet charging
    • Demand management, including managed charging
    • Upgrades or expansions to utility owned and operated grid infrastructure for the purposes of delivering power to electric vehicle supply equipment
  • Meet or exceed the equity-related investment requirements set in RCW 70A.535.080.

Dates to remember

SB 6304 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday, February 1 at 1:30 pm.