Summary

This bill amends the vehicle and traffic law to prohibit non-electric vehicles from parking in spaces designated for electric vehicle charging.

Explanation

This bill safeguards the accessibility to public electric vehicle charging stations by prohibiting non-electric vehicles from parking in spaces designated for electric charging.

The number of electric vehicles (EVs) in New York is rising with now over 47,000 EVs on the road. In 2014 New York joined the Multi-State Zero-Emission Vehicles Action Plan to increase the number of EVs on the road. Last year NYSERDA underscored that commitment by setting a goal to increase the number of EVs to two million by 2030. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 36% of emissions statewide. Achieving the goals set by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act will require a radical reduction in emissions from all sources. In the transportation sector this calls for elimination of emissions from fossil fuel vehicles through wide scale adoption of EVs. In order to encourage consumers to invest in EVs, public charging stations must be available and accessible. Public charging options help to ease the concern of range anxiety and provide options for vehicle owners that cannot charge at home.

While many EVs are charged at home, public charging stations are in parking lots where non-electric vehicles also park. New York State currently has over 1,500 public EV charging stations with over 4,000 charging outlets. As the number of EVs on the road increases, access to public charging stations will be increasingly necessary. It is important that parking spaces dedicated to charging EVs remain available for the intended purpose, and that non-electric vehicles are prohibited from occupying the charging stations.

Eleven other states have passed laws that prohibit non-electric vehicles from parking in EV charging spaces, this bill aligns New York with those states and move us further down the road to an all-electric transportation sector by ensuring that public electric vehicle charging stations are accessible.