A Georgia House committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a plan that would fundamentally change the future of electric vehicles in the state by introducing new charging fees similar to the cost of filling up a car.
House bill 406 will allow owners of convenience stores and other commercial locations that have EV chargers in place to sell electricity based on the kilowatt-hour, rather than the time it takes to charge. The amendment also establishes guidelines for new taxes designed to recoup some of the foregone fuel taxes that currently bring in $2 billion annually to build and repair roads and bridges in the state.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rick Jaspere, said the measure implements many of the recommendations made by a joint study committee on transportation electrification, which met for several months to figure out how to achieve a strong consensus.
The bill received support from the State Association of Consumer Markets, Tesla, the largest provider of electric charging stations, and Georgia Power and Georgia EMCs.
“We had testimonials about car dealerships, car storage, direct sales, we hunted every rabbit in the world. And I think people have been looking at us to make sure that as a group we’re making sure they’re safe and accurate on taxation because no one wants to pay more than they use,” the Jasper Republican said on Wednesday’s edition by House Technology & Infrastructure Innovation Committee Meeting.
The growth of Georgia’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturers has prompted Governor Brian Kemp to make it his mission for the state to become the state Electromobility Capital of America.
Under President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year, Georgia was allocated $135 million to cover the cost of installing new charging stations.
If the new legislation is approved, the Department of Agriculture would be responsible for inspecting charging stations for safety and verifying that EV owners are being charged accurately based on the amount of electricity needed to charge.
The bill has the support of the state Department of Agriculture, which already conducts inspections of fuel pumps at gas stations. It could take several years as the emerging test equipment technology is readily available and there is ample time to hire enough inspectors to handle the growing electric vehicle market.
“Other states have moved forward and then they have to backtrack a bit, so I’d like to step in for a few years,” said Katherine Russell, the Department of Agriculture’s director of policy. “I think it would be wise that we really explore what that looks like by looking at the experiences of other states.”
During the committee’s hearing on Wednesday, a concern was whether electric vehicle owners would have to pay too many fees with excise and sales taxes to go along with an annual fee, making buying battery-powered vehicles less attractive.
The bill does not change the annual fee of $211 charged by owners of small battery-powered cars and $317 charged by owners of commercial electric vehicles. The fee is intended to cover the average amount in fuel taxes that a typical car owner would pay for wear and tear on state roads. The state collects about 30 cents per gallon in fuel taxes.
That fee could be eliminated in the coming years, however, as the Georgia DOT will soon participate in a national pilot that will allow drivers to track and pay based on the number of miles they drive their electric car.
Many of Georgia’s convenience stores are in prime locations that can make the state a national leader in electric vehicles, said Angela Holland, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores.
But there are concerns that Georgia Power’s ability to recoup the cost of its own charging stations will put store owners at a competitive disadvantage, she said.
A three-year Georgia Power tariff plan approved by state regulators earlier this year gives business owners a first right of refusal if the utility wants to install charging stations at a certain distance from the store.
The Convenience Store Associations and other groups have recommended that regulated utilities set up a separate subsidiary to oversee electric charging stations.
“One of our fears is that utility companies will offer a tariff to private providers who need some sort of mark-up to cover their costs,” Holland said. But if they deploy a charging station, what tariff will they charge themselves, will they include on-demand charges? There is no reason to force them to charge the same price as a producer, distributor and now a retailer.”
Rep. Sam Park, a Lawrenceville Democrat, asked about the level of concern that the state could see a drop in revenue for roads and bridges as the market for electric vehicles and other alternative fuel technologies become more efficient.
Jaspere said this is an area where state leaders will continue to monitor to ensure there are sufficient funds. Georgia is one of the few states that is solving this problem, he said.
“We are the leader,” he said. “We have our finger on the pulse.”
