Category Archives: Electric Vehicles 2021

SB5744

SB5744 – Creates a ten year sales and use tax deferral for projects investing at least $2 million in clean technology manufacturing, clean alternative fuels production, generating renewable electricity, or storing it, with options for reducing or eliminating the deferred taxes.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Nguyen (D; 34th District; White Center) (Co-Sponsors Carlyle, Conway, Das, Kuderer, Mullet, Pedersen, Saldaña, Trudeau – Ds) (By request of the Office of Financial Management.)
Current status – Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology  January 19th. Replaced by a substitute and passed out of committee February 2nd. Referred to Ways and Means.
Next step would be – Scheduling a hearing.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
HB1988 is a companion bill in the House.

Summary –

Substitute –
The substitute would expand the deferral for facilities to store energy from renewable sources to include storage for renewable or electrolytic hydrogen and for any electricity. It would leave the current tax exemptions for renewable hydrogen production facilities as part of “electric vehicle infrastructure” in place. It would require Labor and Industries to adopt rules for the minimum labor standards and good faith efforts required to get the bill’s reductions in deferred tax obligations.

Original bill –
The bill would defer state and local sales and use taxes on materials and equipment, labor, or services for projects investing at least $2 million in buildings, or machinery and equipment, or both, for any new, renovated, or expanded clean technology manufacturing operation; facility to produce clean fuels or renewable or electrolytic hydrogen; or facility to generate or store electricity from renewable resources. The manufacturing of vehicles with no tailpipe emissions other than water, including motorcycles would be qualified; so would charging and fueling infrastructure for any of those, as well as equipment and facilities for generating renewable and electrolytic hydrogen (including preparing those for distribution); for producing clean fuel with associated greenhouse gas emissions not exceeding 80% of 2017 levels, and for generating electricity from renewable resources or equipment used directly in storing it.

Applications for the deferral could not be submitted after June 30th, 2032. Ten percent of the deferred taxes would become due on December 31st of the second year after completion of the project, and the rest of them would be due in annual payments of 10% at the end of each of the nine following years. (No interest would be charged, except on delinquent payments.)

The State would reduce its part of the taxes to be repaid by half for projects certified by L&I as including procurement from and contracts with women, minority, or veteran-owned businesses; procurement from and contracts with entities that have a history of complying with federal and state wage and hour laws and regulations; apprenticeship utilization; and preferred entry for workers living in the area where the project is being constructed. (If a project was built without one or more of these, the Department would be allowed to certify that it met them if it demonstrated it had made all good faith efforts to do so, but was unable to due to lack of availability of qualified businesses or local hires.) Projects that met these standards and paid workers at prevailing wage rates determined by local collective bargaining would receive a 75% reduction, and those that also were developed under a community workforce or project labor agreement would not have to repay the deferred taxes at all. A person leasing qualified buildings, machinery, and equipment would only receive the tax benefits if the owner agreed to pass them on in writing, and if the lessee agreed in writing with the Department to do the required tax performance reporting.

Construction would have to begin within two years or the taxes would become due. A gradually decreasing percentage of them would be due if the project had not been completed within five years or if it were used for some other purpose that didn’t qualify for the deferment.

The bill would revise a definition so that renewable hydrogen production facilities would no longer be included under the current sales and use tax exemptions as part of “electric vehicle infrastructure.”

HB1548

HB1548 – Frees regular hybrids without plugs from the extra $75 transportation electrification fee for EVs and alternative fuel vehicles.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Klippert (R; 8th District; Benton County) (Co-Sponsor Shewmake – D)
Current status – Referred to the House Committee on Transportation
Next step would be – Scheduling a hearing
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
Currently fully electric vehicles, other alternative fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids pay an additional $75 a year as a transportation electrification fee, which goes to supporting the adoption of electric vehicles until July 1, 2025. (After that, the money will go to the regular motor vehicle account.) The bill would eliminate the fee for regular hybrids.

SB5452 – 2021

SB5452 – Requires giving electric bicycles the same access to non-motorized dirt trails and closed roads that regular bicycles are given.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Cleveland (D; 49th District; Vancouver) (Co-Sponsors Liias – D and Jeff Wilson – R)
Current status – Converted to a study and passed.
In the Senate – Passed
Referred to Senate Committee on Transportation; had a hearing on February 18th. Replaced by a substitute and voted out of committee February 22nd. Referred to Rules. Amended on the floor in a very minor way and passed by the Senate unanimously March 8th. Senate concurred in the House amendments April 14th.

In the House – Passed
Referred to the Committee on Rural Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources. Had a hearing March 16th. Replaced by a striker and passed out of committee March 23rd. Referred to Rules, and passed by the House April 11th. Returned to the Senate for consideration of concurrence.
Next step would be – To the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –

Striker in the House –
This would postpone the due date for the study by nine months, to September 30th, 2022, and would allow people with a current State disabled parking permit to ride Class 1 & 2 electric bicycles on these trails and roads until June 30th, 2023, or the creation of rules or legislation about the issue.

Substitute –
The substitute converts the bill to a study by the Department of Natural Resources, and a study by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to decide which classes of electric-assisted bicycles are acceptable on these trails and roads under each agencies’ management, and where.

Original –
The bill would only apply to Class 1 and Class 3 e-bikes. Class 1 bikes only provide power from the battery when the rider is pedaling, provide electric assistance up to 20 miles an hour, and would be allowed on non-motorized trails. Class 3 bikes do not include pedaling, have a maximum speed of 28 miles an hour, and would be allowed on roads with nonmotorized access.

HB1388

HB1388 – Allows manufacturers that only make zero-emissions vehicles, like Tesla, to own and control their own dealerships, finance, leasing and service operations. (Dead)
Prime Sponsor – Representative Kloba (D; 1st District; Kirkland, Bothell)
Current status – Referred to the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business; had a hearing February 10th.
Next step would be – Dead bill.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
Plug-In America has a fact sheet on the bill.

Summary –
The bill allows manufacturers that only make zero-emissions vehicles, like Tesla, to operate their own dealerships, finance, leasing and service operations. (It also raises the cap on the documentary service fee dealers can charge to cover the costs of dealing with registration fees and other legal requirements when selling or leasing a vehicle from $150 to $300.)

HB1330

HB1330 – Creates a sales and use tax exemption for electric bicycles and up to $200 of related equipment.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Shewmake (D; 42nd District; Whatcom County)
Current status – Dead
In the House – Passed
Referred to the House Committee on Finance. Had a hearing there February 17th; replaced by a substitute and passed out of committee February 19th. Referred to Rules, and passed by the House March 9th.

In the Senate –
Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and had a hearing March 23rd.
Next step would be – Action by the committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
Substitute –
The substitute merely specified the date at which reaching the cap would terminate the exemption more clearly.

Original bill –
The bill exempts electric bicycles and up to $200 of related equipment from the sales tax starting August 1st, 2021 and ending May 1st 2027, or when $500,000 of exemptions have been granted. (It says the Legislature intends to extend the expiration if a review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee finds that the number of electric bicycles purchased has increased by 25 percent compared to the number of electric bicycles in 2020.) [This may be intended to mean compared to the number purchased in 2020.]

HB1287

HB1287 – Creates a tool for forecasting and mapping EV charging infrastructure needs; requires addressing those in utilities’ integrated resource planning, and in building code updates.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Ramel (D; 40th District; Bellingham) (Co-sponsor Hackney – D)
In the House – Passed
Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment and Energy January 28th. Replaced by a substitute and passed out of committee February 4th. Referred to the House Committee on Transportation; had a hearing there on February 16th. Replaced by a second substitute and voted out of Transportation February 18th. Referred to Rules. Amended on the floor and passed by the House March 3rd. House concurred in the Senate amendments April 14th.
In the Senate – Passed
Referred to the Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology; had a hearing March 18th; amended and passed out of committee March 23rd. Referred to Transportation; had a hearing March 29th, amended by the chair (reportedly without a role call vote), passed out of committee April 1st and referred to Rules. Amended on the floor and passed by the Senate April 10th.
Next step would be – To the Governor (who vetoed Hobbs’s amendment and signed the resulting bill.)
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
Senate floor amendment –
The amendment would add areas zoned R-3 to those that would have increased code requirements for EV charging capability. (R-3 zoning allows single family, duplexes, triplexes, and row houses.)

Senate Transportation  amendment –
Chairman Hobbs’ amendment would delay making the 2030 phaseout a goal until the point when 75% of the cars and light trucks on the road were paying a road usage charge.

Senate committee amendment –
This added the goal for a 2030 phaseout of internal combustion cars and light trucks from the sponsor’s SB5256 (which died in committee) to the bill.

House Floor Amendments –
Representative Barkis’s amendments specified that money from the electric vehicle account could fund this bill’s activities; required Commerce to identify gas stations, convenience stores, and small retailers colocated with charging infrastructure; and to consider recommending such sites for future installations. Representative Ramel’s amendment removed green hydrogen from the bill and made a number of other changes which are summarized at the end of it.

Substitute –
The substitute makes a number of small changes, which are summarized by staff at the beginning of the new version. The second substitute made some administrative changes and technical adjustments, which are summarized by staff at the beginning of it.

Original bill –
The bill requires the Department of Commerce to create a publicly available mapping and forecasting tool to provide locations and essential information for the charging and refueling infrastructure to support forecasted levels of electric vehicle use across the state. It’s to be developed in consultation with several other agencies and stakeholders, and to enable the coordinated, effective, efficient, and timely deployment of the charging and refueling infrastructure needed for transportation electrification consistent with the State’s emissions reductions targets. Utilities’ integrated resource plans would be required to account for how they expect to meet the State’s forecasted needs for this infrastructure and the associated energy impacts. The bill would require the Building Code Council to increase the current code requirements for providing charging infrastructure as needed to support the anticipated levels of use resulting from the ZEV standards, and needed to meet the State’s targets.

The tool’s to prioritize on-road transportation initially, and include the most recent data charging and refueling infrastructure feasible. It must incorporate DOT’s traffic and traveler information for passenger and freight vehicles, such as volumes and travel patterns. If it’s feasible, it must provide the data needed to support agency programs that directly or indirectly support transportation electrification efforts; and evolve over time to support future programs.

To the extent feasible, the tool must include:
1. The amount, type, location, and installation year for charging infrastructure and refueling infrastructure that’s expected to be necessary to support usage in the state;
2. EV adoption, usage, technological profiles, and any other characteristics needed to model future usage affecting needs for that infrastructure;
3. The estimated energy and capacity demand for it;
4. Boundaries of political subdivisions (including those for retail electricity suppliers; public transportation agencies, and tribal governments);
5. Existing publicly or privately owned Level 2 and DC fast chargers, and refueling infrastructure, identifying refueling that supplies renewable hydrogen, if possible.
6. A public interface allowing any user to determine the forecasted charging and refueling infrastructure needs within a provided geographic boundary;
7. The ability to download all data tracked by the tool, or use it within a separate mapping and forecasting tool.
8. Integrate scenarios including varying levels of public transportation and active transportation usage; of vehicle miles traveled; and of adoption of autonomous and shared mobility services.
9. Incorporate infrastructure located at or near the border in neighboring state and provincial jurisdictions when appropriate.

The  tool must integrate population, health, environmental, and socioeconomic data on a census tract basis to support highly impacted communities and vulnerable populations disproportionately burdened by transportation-related emissions and to ensure economic and mobility benefits flow to communities that have historically received less investment in infrastructure. (The department must consult with other agencies to ensure the tool properly integrates best practices for cumulative impact analyses and is developed in coordination with their efforts to identify disproportionately impacted communities.)

To the extent it’s appropriate, the tool must integrate related analyses, such as the department’s state energy strategy, the Joint Transportation Committee’s public fleet electrification study, the West Coast Collaborative’s alternative fuel infrastructure corridor coalition report, and other related assessments.

SB5256

SB5256 – Requires ending State registration of fossil fuel cars and light vehicles, starting with 2030 models. (Dead)
Prime Sponsor – Senator Liias (D; 21st District; Snohomish County) (Co-sponsor Nguyen – D)
Current status – Referred to the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology
Next step would be – Scheduling a hearing (Dead)
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
HB1204 is a companion bill in the House.

Comments –
Coltura has a fact sheet about the bill.

Summary –
The bill requires the State Transportation Commission to develop a plan and implement regulations to require that all new vehicles beginning with model year 2030 must be electric to be registered in Washington. (Model-year 2029 and earlier vehicles, emergency vehicles, vehicles over 10,000 pounds, and those bought by residents of another state before becoming Washington residents are not affected.)

The plan’s to be completed by September 1st, 2023, in consultation with other agencies, and must include:
1. The predicted number of new and used electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles registered in Washington each year during a transition period from 2022 through 2040;
2. The charging infrastructure needed to provide convenient fueling of electric vehicles during that period, and predicted yearly investments required to build it;
3. An analysis of the generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades and build-out required to provide fueling for those electric vehicles, and the predicted yearly and aggregate investment required to implement those upgrades;
4. An analysis of how the grid can be optimized through smart charging and discharging of electric vehicles during that period;
5. An analysis of yearly job gains and losses during the period as a result of the requirement, as well as its effect on state transportation revenues
6. Recommendations on alternative sources of revenues to replace gas tax revenues;
7. An analysis of the requirement’s impacts on equity, especially on disadvantaged and low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities, and strategies for maximizing equity in implementing the requirement; and
8. A just transition strategy for those negatively impacted by it.

The commission’s to conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan, especially including those from disadvantaged and low-income communities. The plan’s to be updated in 2025 and 2028, and the Commission’s to submit copies each time to the Legislature’s transportation committees.

Before January 1, 2025, the commission, in coordination with appropriate agencies, is to adopt regulations consistent with the scoping plan, requiring that all passenger and light duty vehicles of model year 2030 or later sold or registered in Washington state are electric. The regulations are to be designed to maximize equity and total benefits to the state while minimizing costs and risks, minimize the administrative burden of implementing and complying with them, and rely on the best available economic and scientific information and its assessment of existing and projected technological capabilities.

The commission’s to consult with the UTC, investor-owned utilities, public utility districts, and municipal utilities in the development of the regulations insofar as they affect electricity providers, in order to to minimize duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements.

HB1204

HB1204 – Requires ending State registration of fossil fuel cars and light vehicles, starting with 2030 models. (Dead)
Prime Sponsor – Representative Macri (D; 43rd District; Seattle) (Co-sponsors Chopp, Ramos, Kloba, Simmons, Senn, Berry, Fitzgibbon, Ramel, Duerr, Ortiz-Self, Goodman, Slatter, Bateman, Pollet, and Harris-Talley)
Current status – Had a hearing in the House Committee on Transportation February 1st. Replaced by a substitute and voted out of committee February 22nd. Referred to Rules. Was still in the House of origin at cutoff.
Next step would be – (Dead bill.)
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
SB5256 is a companion bill in the Senate.

Comments –
Coltura has a fact sheet about the bill.

Summary –
Substitute –
The substitute converts the requirement to a goal.

Original Bill –
The bill requires the State Transportation Commission to develop a plan and implement regulations to require that all new vehicles beginning with model year 2030 must be electric to be registered in Washington.  (Model-year 2029 and earlier vehicles, emergency vehicles, vehicles over 10,000 pounds, and those bought by residents of another state before becoming Washington residents are not affected.)

The plan’s to be completed by September 1st, 2023, in consultation with other agencies, and must include:
1. The predicted number of new and used electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles registered in Washington each year during a transition period from 2022 through 2040;
2. The charging infrastructure needed to provide convenient fueling of electric vehicles during that period, and predicted yearly investments required to build it;
3. An analysis of the generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades and build-out required to provide fueling for those electric vehicles, and the predicted yearly and aggregate investment required to implement those upgrades;
4. An analysis of how the grid can be optimized through smart charging and discharging of electric vehicles during that period;
5. An analysis of yearly job gains and losses during the period as a result of the requirement, as well as its effect on state transportation revenues
6. Recommendations on alternative sources of revenues to replace gas tax revenues;
7. An analysis of the requirement’s impacts on equity, especially on disadvantaged and low-income communities, communities of color, and rural communities, and strategies for maximizing equity in implementing the requirement; and
8. A just transition strategy for those negatively impacted by it.

The commission’s to conduct a series of public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan, especially including those from disadvantaged and low-income communities. The plan’s to be updated in 2025 and 2028, and the Commission’s to submit copies each time to the Legislature’s transportation committees.

Before January 1, 2025, the commission, in coordination with appropriate agencies, is to adopt regulations consistent with the scoping plan, requiring that all passenger and light duty vehicles of model year 2030 or later sold or registered in Washington state are electric. The regulations are to be designed to maximize equity and total benefits to the state while minimizing costs and risks, minimize the administrative burden of implementing and complying with them, and rely on the best available economic and scientific information and its assessment of existing and projected technological capabilities.

The commission’s to consult with the UTC, investor-owned utilities, public utility districts, and municipal utilities in the development of the regulations insofar as they affect electricity providers, in order to to minimize duplicative or inconsistent regulatory requirements.

SB5192

SB5192 – Requires signage, multiple payment methods, and interoperability for publicly available EV chargers.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Das (D; 47th District; Kent) (Co-Sponsor Lovelett – D)
Current status –
In the Senate – Passed
Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation January 26th. Replaced by a substitute and voted out of committee February 11th; referred to Ways and Means. Had a hearing there March 15. Amended and passed out of committee March 18th. Referred to Rules, and passed the Senate April 6th. Senate concurred in the House’s changes April 22nd.

In the House – Passed
Referred to Appropriations. Had a hearing April 19th, replaced by a striker and voted out of committee April 20th. Referred to Rules, and passed the House April 21st. Returned to the Senate for consideration of concurrence.
Next step would be – To the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
The NW Energy Coalition maintains a web page supporting and tracking the bill.

Comments –
I’m not sure how expansive the requirement to “facilitate means for conducting a charging session in languages other than English, and means for facilitating charging sessions for consumers who are unbanked, underbanked, or low-moderate income” is, or how one would meet it for everyone in those categories.

Summary –

Striker in House Appropriations –
This made some minor changes which are summarized at the end of it.

Amendments in Ways and Means –
The amendments created a ten year exemption from the requirements for the testing and inspection of weights and measuring equipment for equipment in place before 2024, exempted chargers at auto dealers, and made some other minor changes which are summarized by staff at the beginning of the amended version.

Substitute –
There’s a staff summary of the changes at the beginning of the substitute.

Original bill –
The bill requires publicly available EV chargers to display a specified set of information, and to accept multiple payment methods in accordance with rules created by the Department of Agriculture. It requires the hardware, software, and communications network of a provider of public charging systems to be able to interact with, exchange, and make use of information, including payment information, from a different provider’s systems.

It applies to chargers that a lessee or property owner designates as available only to customers or visitors of a business; or ones that any member of the public can drive to in a parking garage or gated facility, with or without an entrance fee. (However, chargers that are clearly marked as available for use by the general public at no cost at all times are exempt from the bill’s requirements. So are free chargers are clearly marked as reserved for workplace use by workers or contracted employees, and free chargers reserved for residents, tenants, visitors, or employees of a private residence; a development with individually owned units in addition to shared facilities and common areas; or a residential building adjacent to a private residence.) The director of the Department of Agriculture is authorized to expand the requirements to other chargers to benefit the public and protect consumers.

Providers of service at covered chargers are required to clearly mark and disclose all the charges, fees, and costs associated with a charging session at each charger or location at which users can pay for and begin a session. They must include any fee for use of the parking space; any nonmember plug-in fee; the price to refuel in dollars/kWh or megajoule; any potential changes in that price due to variable pricing; and any other fees charged for a charging session. If a session or portion of one is offered at no cost, that must be disclosed.

In consultation with Commerce and the UTC, the department must adopt and update rules requiring charger providers to make multiple payment methods available at all publicly available Level 2 and DC fast chargers. The rules must include deadlines for compliance for previously installed and future chargers, and payment methods that must be available at a minimum. (These must be convenient and reasonably support access; they can include a credit card reader, a toll-free number on each charger that allows starting a session and paying whenever the charger’s available for use, or paying using a mobile phone or device.) They must also provide a means for conducting a charging session in languages other than English; a means for facilitating sessions for consumers who are unbanked, underbanked, or have low to moderate incomes. Providers can’t require a subscription, membership, account or a minimum balance to begin charging; if they sell or intend to sell consumer data from associated with charging, they have to disclose all the types of data they’re collecting to users.

By July 1st, 2022, the department is to require all providers to meet and maintain interoperability standards for these chargers that align with national and international best practices or standards. These should allow the hardware, systems, software, or a communications network provided by one party, vendor, or service provider to interact with exchange and make use of information, including payment information, with the corresponding systems provided by a different one. Starting July 1, 2022, the Department of Commerce, in consultation with Agriculture and the UTC, is to adopt and update rules establishing inventory, payment, and reliability reporting requirements for providers. These must include requirements for collecting and submitting information including provider contact information; certification for each charger model operated in Washington; an inventory of active, retired, decommissioned, or removed charging equipment in the state; annual reports detailing charging equipment payment information; and specifications for reporting data to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.

The Department of Agriculture is allowed to establish a reasonable registration fee for electric vehicle supply equipment to cover the costs associated with enforcing the bill’s requirements. It must adopt, and amend as needed, rules for metering the sale of electricity as a vehicle fuel consistent with the the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s handbooks, except where modified to achieve state objectives. (These may not take effect before January 1, 2024.) It adds penalties of $200 for a first violation, and $500 for each subsequent one, on errors in the metering of electricity use by charging equipment that benefit its owners.

HB1075

HB1075 – Requires ride-hailing services to reduce their vehicle emissions.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Berry (D; 36th District; NW Seattle) (Co-sponsor Fitzgibbon – D)
Current status – Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment and Energy January 15th; substitute passed out of committee January 26th. Had a hearing in Appropriations February 8th; replaced by a 2nd Substitute and passed out of Appropriations February 19th. Referred to Rules.
Next step would be – Dead.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
Substitute –
Requires an analysis of the effects on drivers after a year and after five years.
Second Substitute –
Exempts ride-hailing companies using only zero-emissions vehicles from some reporting and regulatory requirements.

Original bill –
By July 1st, 2022 the bill requires the Department of Ecology to establish a baseline of the emissions per passenger-mile-traveled through ride-hailing services in 2018. (It’s to include an estimate of the additional miles using active modes of transportation like walking and biking by passengers whose use of those has been facilitated by the company’s software.) The bill requires the department to set mandatory annual goals and targets that are technically and economically feasible for each company’s emissions per passenger-mile and for increasing the percentage of passenger-miles traveled using zero emission vehicles; they’re to “take into consideration” the state greenhouse gas targets and its vehicle miles traveled goals. To the extent that it’s practical, the rules Ecology’s to create for the program are to have a minimal negative impact on low-income and moderate-income drivers; support providing clean mobility for low-income and moderate-income individuals; and complement and support the long list of goals for planning under the Growth Management Act.

By January 1st 2024, each ride-hailing company must create an emissions reduction plan for reaching the targets; these must be approved by the department; implemented starting January 1st, 2025; and updated every two years. (It’s authorized to delay the process if it finds there are unanticipated barriers to expanding the use of zero-emissions vehicles, and it can create a system to give companies credits toward reaching their targets for providing or supporting charging infrastructure for ride-hailing vehicles.)

Plans have to include proposals for increasing the proportion of zero emission vehicles used, increasing the percentage of overall vehicle miles completed by zero emission vehicles, decreasing the average gram-per-mile greenhouse gas emission rates for vehicles, and increasing the percentage of overall vehicle miles in which passengers are being carried. They also have to consider incentives to increase the percentage of miles traveled by riders whose associated use of active modes of transportation is being facilitated by the company’s software; and to outline actions the company will take to ensure the plan won’t make drivers worse off financially.

Ecology is also to consult with businesses that deliver food and other consumer goods and report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature by December 1st, 2022 on ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Details –
Ride-hailing companies are required to provide relevant data to Ecology. The department’s authorized to collect fees to cover the costs of administering the program, and is required to report on it to the appropriate legislative committees. (There doesn’t seem to be an appeals procedure,  and there don’t seem to be any penalties for failing to meet the targets.)

The bill doesn’t apply to taxicabs, charters and excursion services, commercial vehicles on regular routes that include travel outside city limits, non-profits providing passenger service for people with special needs, or limousines.

SB5026

SB5026 – Authorizes ports’ purchases of zero and near zero emissions cargo handling equipment; prohibits purchase of automated container cargo handling equipment.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Salomon (D; 32nd District; Shoreline) (Co-Sponsor Cleveland – D)
Current status –
In the Senate – Passed
Passed out of the Senate Committee on Transportation January 25th; referred to the Committee on Housing and Local Government and had a hearing there on Tuesday, February 2nd. Passed out of committee February 10th, and referred to Rules. Passed out of Rules, amended on the floor and passed by the Senate February 23rd.

In the House – Passed
Referred to the Committee on Local Government. Had a hearing on March 10th, and passed out of committee March 12th. Referred to Rules, and passed by the House April 6th.
Next step would be – To the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Summary –
The bill authorizes purchases of zero and near zero emissions cargo handling equipment for the use of a port district, a port development authority, or its tenants or lessees. It also prohibits the purchase of any container cargo handling equipment that’s remotely operated or remotely monitored. (I think the floor amendment in the Senate would make the bill expire ten years from now, at the end of 2031, though the staff summary only says it expires the prohibition on fully automated equipment.)