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Assembly Members Benson and Pinkin on Monday’s Joint Committee Hearing on Electric Vehicle Legislation

(TRENTON) – Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman Dan Benson and Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee Chair Nancy Pinkin thanked stakeholders and participants of Monday’s Joint Committee Hearing on electric vehicles and their future in New Jersey:

Assemblyman Dan Benson (D-Mercer/Middlesex): “By establishing aggressive goals for electric vehicles (EV) and infrastructure deployment, we can make sure that increased EV use in our state is accessible to everyone. Improving EV adoption in New Jersey will achieve positive impacts not only for our transportation system but our environment as well. EV’s are the future and the future is now in New Jersey. With government and industry working together on this issue, we will be able to accomplish these goals.”

Assembly Member Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex): “Our plan to take New Jersey’s public and private transportation systems into the future and embrace electric vehicles is one that will benefit our residents for years to come. Thank you to all those who came to our committee hearing to testify today, and I look forward to continuing to work to make electric vehicles more available and utilizable for all our residents. For the sake of future generations, it is imperative that we in New Jersey embrace the electric vehicle movement. Cars contribute significantly to air pollution and climate change, especially with the amount of driving most New Jerseyans do.”

The Legislation sponsored by Chairman Benson and Chairwoman Pinkin would establish goals, initiatives, and programs to encourage and support the use of plug-in electric vehicles. It would include a schedule for installation of charging equipment and infrastructure required to meet renewable energy goals, market condition strategies for long term development of electric vehicle infrastructure, and methods for data collection required to measure and assess EV adoption, development, & maintenance.

The guidelines & programs the bill (A-4634) lays out ensure the equitable socioeconomic and geographic availability of initiatives and implements diverse solutions which maximizes the beneficial impacts of the infrastructure for ratepayers.

Statewide consumer awareness campaigns would address consumer concerns such as range anxiety and accessible infrastructure through a public education program implemented by the DEP to educate consumers about the availability and benefits of plug-in electric vehicles in New Jersey, public vehicle charging infrastructure, and programs or policies that provide incentives for the use of plug-in electric vehicles.