This April 2021 legislation out of Washington requires that all publicly and privately owned passenger and light duty vehicles of model year 2030 or later be electric. To protect highway revenues, this requirement shall apply only once a road usage charge, or equivalent fee or tax based on vehicle miles traveled, has at least 75% of registered passenger and light duty vehicles in the state participating.
The legislation also sets several planning processes in motion for the zero-emissions transit future. It requires the Department of Commerce to develop and maintain a publicly available mapping, and forecasting tool that provides locations and essential information of electric vehicle (EV) charging and refueling infrastructure to support forecasted EV adoption levels, travel, and use in the state. This bill also requires electric utilities to analyze how their resource plans support and account for anticipated levels of zero-emission vehicle use, relevant infrastructure forecasts and associated energy impacts, and information from the utilities’ transportation electrification plans. Additionally, this bill directs the State Building Code Council to adopt rules that exceed the specific minimum requirements established in 2019 for EV infrastructure in buildings to the extent necessary to support anticipated levels of zero-emission vehicle use.