I’d like to call attention to a couple of Electric Vehicle-related bills that are making their way through our legislature. They are related to the enforcement of Act 89 (the law that mandates owners of large parking areas to provide parking and charging facilities for EVs).

• HB 2221 – Establishes fines beginning January 1, 2017, for owners of parking facilities with at least one hundred parking spaces that do not provide at least one parking space equipped with a charging system exclusively for electric vehicles. Allows for a warning prior to being fined for a first violation.
• SB 2515 – Requires, in places of public accommodation, a ratio of one electric vehicle parking stall per 100 stalls by 2017 and a ratio of two electric vehicle parking stall

We are reaching out to ensure that these bills are heard by the Finance and Ways and Means committees. Once they are scheduled, we will all have the opportunity to submit testimony. Your testimony and your outreach to our legislators to support these measures will go a long way in ensuring that the public need is heard and acted upon.

Submitting your testimony should take about 10 minutes of your time. To submit testimony:

• Go to the respective pages (HB 2221, SB 2515) at the Hawaii State Legislature website.
• Sign-in. If you don’t already have an account, you’ll have to register (it’s easy – it requires your name, organization, phone, and email address).
• After signing in, click the “Submit a Testimony” button to enter your comment.

We can all do our part to help Hawaii be a haven for sustainable transportation.  Let’s make it very clear that there is a need for infrastructure to spur EV adoption, that EV adoption is a key to Hawaii meeting its clean energy goals, and that we need for enforcement of Act 89.

Please note that until these are scheduled, it will not be possible to submit testimony. I will announce once these bills are scheduled to be heard.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Noel Morin