SB6684 – Code requirements for EV ready charging infrastructure in additional buildings.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Das (D; 47th District; Kent) (Co-Sponsors Saldaña, Nguyen, Hobbs, and Lovelett)
Current status – Referred to the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology.
Next step would be – Scheduling a hearing.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
State law currently requires EV ready charging infrastructure for five percent of the parking spaces in new hotels and motels, and in Group B and Group R-2 buildings. The bill would expand that to require more spaces, and to cover single family residences and some other residential buildings.

Summary –
The bill requires the Building Code Council to add rules requiring a 40 Amp circuit and the wiring to make it easy to add 240 volt Level 2 chargers for new buildings in group B (which includes office buildings and ones containing professional or service businesses); in hotels and motels; in group R-2 (which includes buildings with sleeping units or more than two dwelling units that have primarily permanent occupants); and in group R-3 (which includes single family residences and some other residential buildings like boarding houses).

This infrastructure for at least one charger is to be provided in private parking for an individual dwelling. In multi-family buildings with one to six surface parking spaces, each space is to have it. If there are seven to twenty-five surface spaces, at least six must be ready for chargers. If there are more surface spaces, and in parking garages serving multi-family residences, and in all other residential uses twenty percent of the spaces must be EV ready. Ten percent of the spaces in non-residential uses have to be EV ready. If accessible parking is also provided, at least one of the accessible spaces has to be ready for charger installation.

The Council has to allow limited reductions in the number of required spaces or provide exemptions if there’s substantial evidence that the added electrical load would require on-property power transformation on the utility’s side of the meter, or would require upgrading the existing residential service.