Pending legislation in New Jersey will make it one of the country’s most EV-friendly states, establishing new purchase incentives and investing substantial amounts in charging infrastructure.
Assembly Bill 4819 and companion Senate Bill 2252 have been passed by their respective committees, and are expected to be signed into law this week.
The legislation creates a purchase rebate based on range – plug-in vehicle buyers will receive a credit of $25 per mile of electric range, up to a max of $5,000. Any vehicle with a range of 200 miles or more, and a sticker price of $55,000 or less, will qualify for the full $5,000 rebate. The state already waives its 7% sales tax on EV purchases.
The law includes the following infrastructure projects, to be completed by the end of 2021:
- at least 600 new public DC fast charging ports at 300 locations (at least 100 of the locations shall be on travel corridors, no more than 25 miles apart, and will offer a minimum of 150 kW of power);
- at least 1,000 new public Level 2 charging stations.
And that’s not all. By the end of 2025, New Jersey will require:
- 25% of all multi-family residential properties to provide charging in a proportion equal to EV registrations in the state;
- 25% of all overnight lodging to offer Level 2 charging to guests;
- 25% of all places of employment to provide at least two dedicated charging spaces for EVs;
- 40% of state-owned, non-emergency light-duty vehicles to be plug-in vehicles;
- 100% of New Jersey Transit Corporation bus purchases to be plug-in vehicles.
The electrification of the buses will be phased in over the next five years – 10% of new bus purchases in 2020, and so on. So, we’re likely to see a substantial order for electric buses this year.
Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson contributed an op-ed to New Jersey’s Star-Ledger in which she pointed out the advantages of electric buses and called for the new law to be passed.
Source: Electrek