Bill Summary
The Electric Transportation Commission and National Strategy Act is a proposed bill that aims to establish a working group to make recommendations on the development, adoption, and integration of electric vehicles into the transportation and energy systems of the United States. The working group, composed of representatives from various federal agencies, industries, and organizations, will meet regularly to discuss the barriers and opportunities to scaling up electric vehicle adoption nationwide, as well as develop a strategy to overcome these barriers and promote electric vehicle usage. The bill also calls for the creation of an electric vehicle resource guide, which will provide information and resources to increase knowledge about electric vehicles and necessary charging infrastructure for consumers, state and local governments, and businesses. The Secretaries of Transportation and Energy will coordinate with existing resources and use existing funds to carry out this legislation. The working group will terminate upon submission of their third report.
Possible Impacts
1. The establishment of a working group on electric vehicles could lead to the development and implementation of policies that incentivize the production and adoption of electric vehicles. This could affect people by potentially reducing the cost of owning and operating an electric vehicle and promoting more environmentally friendly transportation options.
2. The inclusion of non-federal stakeholders in the working group could lead to a more diverse range of perspectives being considered in the development of strategies and recommendations for electric vehicle adoption. This could potentially benefit individuals from different industries, such as the trucking industry or the property development industry, who may have a stake in the success of electric vehicles.
3. The resource guide on electric vehicles could provide valuable information and resources for individuals and businesses looking to transition to electric vehicles. This could affect people by increasing their knowledge and understanding of electric vehicles, and potentially encouraging them to make the switch from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2040 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2040
To establish a working group on electric vehicles, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 27, 2019
Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Smith, Mr. Wyden, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a working group on electric vehicles, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Electric Transportation Commission
and National Strategy Act''.
SEC. 2. ELECTRIC VEHICLE WORKING GROUP.
(a) Establishment of Working Group.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation and the
Secretary of Energy (referred to in this section as the
``Secretaries'') shall jointly establish a working group
(referred to in this section as the ``working group'') to make
recommendations on the development, adoption, and integration
of electric vehicles into the transportation and energy systems
of the United States.
(2) Membership.--
(A) In general.--The working group shall be
composed of--
(i) the Secretaries (or designees), who
shall be co-chairs of the working group; and
(ii) not more than 25 members to be
appointed by the Secretaries, of whom--
(I) not more than 6 shall be
Federal stakeholders as described in
subparagraph (B); and
(II) not more than 19 shall be non-
Federal stakeholders as described in
subparagraph (C).
(B) Federal stakeholders.--The working group--
(i) shall include not less than 1
representative of each of--
(I) the Department of
Transportation;
(II) the Department of Energy;
(III) the Environmental Protection
Agency; and
(IV) the General Services
Administration; and
(ii) may include a representative of any
other Federal agency the Secretaries consider
to be appropriate.
(C) Non-federal stakeholders.--The working group--
(i) shall include not less than 1
representative of each of--
(I) a manufacturer of electric
vehicles or the relevant components of
electric vehicles;
(II) an owner, operator, or
manufacturer of electric vehicle
charging equipment;
(III) the public utility industry;
(IV) a public utility regulator or
association of public utility
regulators;
(V) the transportation fueling
distribution industry;
(VI) the energy provider industry;
(VII) the automotive dealing
industry;
(VIII) the passenger transportation
industry;
(IX) an organization representing a
unit of local government;
(X) a regional transportation or
planning agency;
(XI) an organization representing
State departments of transportation;
(XII) an organization representing
State departments of energy or State
energy planners;
(XIII) an expert in intelligent
transportation systems and
technologies;
(XIV) organized labor;
(XV) the trucking industry;
(XVI) Tribal governments; and
(XVII) the property development
industry; and
(ii) may include a representative of any
other non-Federal stakeholder that the
Secretaries consider to be appropriate.
(3) Meetings.--
(A) In general.--The working group shall meet not
less frequently than once every 120 days.
(B) Remote participation.--A member of the working
group may participate in a meeting of the working group
via teleconference or similar means.
(b) Report and Strategy on Electric Vehicle Adoption,
Opportunities, and Challenges.--
(1) In general.--The working group shall submit to Congress
by each of the deadlines described in paragraph (2)--
(A) a report on the status of electric vehicle
adoption and opportunities for and challenges to
expanding adoption of electric vehicles, including--
(i) a description of the barriers and
opportunities to scaling up electric vehicle
adoption nationwide, including issues relating
to--
(I) consumer behavior;
(II) charging infrastructure needs,
including standardization;
(III) manufacturing and battery
costs;
(IV) the adoption of electric
vehicles for low- and moderate-income
individuals and underserved
communities, including charging
infrastructure access and vehicle
purchase financing;
(V) business models for charging
electric vehicles outside the home;
(VI) charging infrastructure
permitting and regulatory issues;
(VII) cybersecurity of charging
infrastructure;
(VIII) secondary markets and
recycling for batteries;
(IX) grid integration;
(X) energy storage; and
(XI) specific regional or local
issues that--
(aa) are associated with--
(AA) the issues
described in subclauses
(I) through (X); or
(BB) urban or rural
environments; and
(bb) may not appear
nationwide, but hamper a
nationwide adoption or
coordination of electric
vehicles;
(ii) examples of successful public and
private models and demonstration projects that
encourage electric vehicle adoption; and
(iii) an analysis of current efforts to
overcome the barriers described in clause (i);
and
(B) a strategy that describes how the Federal
Government, States, units of local government, and
industry can--
(i) overcome the barriers described in
subparagraph (A)(i);
(ii) identify areas of opportunity in
research and development to improve battery
manufacturing, mineral mining, recycling costs,
material recovery, and battery performance for
electric vehicles;
(iii) enhance Federal interagency
coordination to promote electric vehicle
adoption;
(iv) promote electric vehicle knowledge and
expertise within State and local governments;
(v) prepare the workforce for the adoption
of electric vehicles, including through
collaboration with labor unions, colleges and
other educational institutions, and relevant
manufacturers;
(vi) expand electric vehicle and charging
infrastructure--
(I) knowledge and use among
Federal, State, and local governments,
school districts, and private entities;
and
(II) adoption among the fleets of
the entities described in subclause
(I);
(vii) expand knowledge of the benefits of
electric vehicles among the general public;
(viii) maintain the global competitiveness
of the United States in the electric vehicle
and charging infrastructure markets;
(ix) provide clarity in regulations to
improve national uniformity with respect to
electric vehicles; and
(x) ensure the sustainable integration of
electric vehicles into the national electric
grid.
(2) Deadlines.--A report under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted by--
(A) for the first report, not later than 1 year
after the date on which the working group is
established under subsection (a)(1);
(B) for the second report, not later than 2 years
after the date on which the first report is required to
be submitted under subparagraph (A); and
(C) for the third report, not later than 2 years
after the date on which the second report is required
to be submitted under subparagraph (B).
(c) Electric Vehicle Resource Guide.--
(1) In general.--The working group shall develop, publish,
and update a resource guide to provide information to increase
knowledge about electric vehicles and necessary charging
infrastructure for consumers, State, local, and Tribal
governments (including transit agencies or authorities, public
tolling authorities, metropolitan planning organizations,
public utility commissions, and public service companies), and
businesses that sell motor vehicles.
(2) Inclusions.--A resource guide under paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) information on--
(i) the general characteristics of electric
vehicles (including passenger vehicles,
electric vehicles for public transportation,
school buses, and electric vehicles for
commercial use); and
(ii) the types of charging solutions
available to consumers, including, to the
maximum extent practicable, a digitally
accessible compilation of existing mapping of
publicly available charging stations in the
United States;
(B) information on electrifying business and
government vehicle fleets;
(C) information on Federal grant programs available
to State and local governments for the purchase of
electric vehicles for public transportation;
(D) a description of current financial and
nonfinancial incentives for electric vehicles; and
(E) any other information that--
(i) a representative of industry or State
or local government requests to be included;
and
(ii) the working group determines to be
appropriate.
(3) Use of existing guides.--In developing, publishing, and
maintaining the resource guide under paragraph (1), the working
group shall consider existing Federal, State, local, private
sector, and academic guides relating to electric vehicles and,
to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate with the entities
publishing those guides--
(A) to prevent duplication of efforts by the
Federal Government; and
(B) to leverage existing complementary efforts.
(4) Resource guide outreach.--The working group shall
conduct outreach to consumers, State, local, and Tribal
governments (including transit agencies or authorities, public
tolling authorities, metropolitan planning organizations,
public utility commissions, and public service companies), and
businesses that sell motor vehicles via the internet, social
media, and other methods--
(A) to provide the resource guide under paragraph
(1) to interested stakeholders, including relevant
consumer groups and transportation-related
organizations;
(B) to promote the use of electric vehicles in both
government and industry fleets; and
(C) to educate individuals involved in the sale of
motor vehicles about the benefits of electric vehicles.
(5) Subsequent resource guides.--Not less frequently than
every 2 years for the duration of the working group, the
working group shall publish an update to the resource guide
under paragraph (1), as appropriate based on technological
innovation and subsequent information.
(6) Accessibility.--The Secretaries shall each maintain the
resource guide under paragraph (1) on a designated website,
which may be an existing website, of each Secretary relating to
electric vehicles.
(d) Coordination.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretaries and the working group shall carry out this section using
all available existing resources, websites, and databases of Federal
agencies, such as the Alternative Fuels Data Center.
(e) Funding.--The Secretaries shall carry out this section using
existing funds made available to the Secretaries and not otherwise
obligated.
(f) Termination.--The working group shall terminate on the date on
which the third report under subsection (b) is submitted.
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