The full Assembly voted 74-0-0 on Thursday approving legislation (A-3367) seeking to address access and convenience of residential electric vehicle (EV) charging to boost consumer adoption of EVs.
The bill, sponsored by Assembly members Gordon Johnson, Jim Kennedy and Dan Benson, would prohibit community associations from unreasonable restriction of EV charging infrastructure and establishes standards to encourage common interest communities to allow for the installation, use and upkeep of EV charging stations by unit owners.
“With 80 percent of EV charging happening at home, making sure the infrastructure exists and is available is critical for both current and would-be EV owners,” said Johnson (D-Bergen). “More people are now driving zero-emission vehicles than ever before and to keep up the momentum there must be widespread availability of charging in all contexts. Associations can’t just be giving a blanket ‘no’ to proposals on charging stations. There needs to be reasonable consideration.”
“To have a self-sustaining electric vehicle market in the long-term we have to ensure the charging infrastructure exists to support it,” said Kennedy (D-Middlesex, Somerset, Union). “Right now, it’s still much easier to fill up your gasoline or diesel-powered car than it is to reliably charge your electric vehicle. This legislation seeks to change that so many eager to make the switch can without restriction to access.”
Under provisions of the measure, the executive board of a common interest community would be able to grant the exclusive use of a common area parking space by a unit owner for the purpose of installing an EV charging station.
“Last session, we set forth strong goals and incentives to increase the number of electric vehicles on our roads and to make progress toward our objective of electrifying our entire transportation fleet by 2050,” said Benson (D-Mercer, Middlesex). “With that comes the need to make it as seamless as possible for homeowners and renters to access charging wherever they live.”
The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.