We tracked over 2 dozen EV-related bills introduced in the Hawaii legislature in the 2021 session. Four have been made it through both chambers and have been transmitted to the Governor (3 are pending his signature). One bill (SB60) which authorizes the new Hōkūleʻa license plate was signed earlier this month. This new license plate design is now available to ALL vehicles.

Please Help Encourage Signing of Bills into Law

Please take a few minutes to send Governor Ige a note of support to encourage the passing of these bills into law. You can send a note here. You’ll need to enter your information and Bill ID (HB552, HB1142, and HB424), select ‘Support’, and write a brief “Please sign… “ It takes a minute for each submission. Details of the bills that need to be passed are listed below.

Clean Ground Transportation Goal for State Agencies

HB552 – Establishes clean ground transportation goals for state agencies on a staggered basis until achieving a 100 percent passenger vehicle clean fleet by 12/31/2030, 100 percent light-duty motor vehicle clean fleet by 12/31/2035, and all light-duty motor vehicles in the State by 12/31/2045. New purchases of light-duty motor vehicles must be zero-emission by January 1, 2022. This is awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Public Fleet Electrification

HB424 – Requires all state and county entities, when renting a vehicle on behalf of a state employee in the discharge of official government business, to rent electric or hybrid vehicles. This is awaiting the Governor’s signature.

EV Charging Infrastructure Funding and Enforcement of EV Charging Rules

HB1142 – Allocates 3 cents of the barrel tax to fund the installation of EV charging systems and enforcement of 297-71 HRS – penalties for failure to comply with the requirement to install and maintain charging stations; authorizing penalties for improper parking in an EV charging stall; requiring that stations are maintained. This is awaiting the Governor’s signature.

Extra Credit

The following bills are also important to support.

HB1402 – Establishes a clean energy and energy efficiency revolving loan program, to be used to acquire clean energy systems, including electric vehicles.

HB932 – Support of multi-modal transportation with the requirement to create motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian highway and pathway networks. This measure helps to reduce ‘vehicle-miles-traveled’, an important strategy for reducing emissions.

For a list of all EV-related bills introduced this session, visit Hawaii EV’s 20201 Legislation page.

Courtesy of Hawaii EV Association