House kills measure to require electric car charging stations in planning

The House Counties, Cities and Towns subcommittee tabled a bill that would have allowed localities in District 8, which includes Arlington County and Alexandria, to require electric car charging stations as part of their subdivision and site planning in a meeting on Thursday.

SB 1312, proposed by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, received support from members of conservation groups and people from the community.

“Automobiles contribute more to pollution than anything else in our state,” Boysko said. “As someone with lung disease, with asthma, and knowing how many of our children also have asthma, this is a tangible way for us to start moving toward a cleaner environment so that our kids are healthy.”

Boysko emphasized the need for the Commonwealth to fortify state infrastructure in response to the expected increase in the number of electric cars manufactured and sold in the state.

“Volkswagen’s national headquarters is right here in Virginia,” Boysko said. “Them and other big car manufacturers need us to start making plans for [electric cars].”

Boysko’s bill received support from environmentalist groups across the state, several of whom came to the meeting to show their support for the bill.

“The small particulate matter that comes from car exhaust from fossil fuel vehicles really harms children’s lungs,” Susan Stillman, the At-Large Executive Committee Member for the Virginia Sierra Club, said. “It can even enter the bloodstream and affect their brains. Let’s set up our infrastructure in a way that electric vehicle adoption is accelerated for those who choose to have it.”

The bill was tabled in a 5-4 vote. Members of the CCT subcommittee raised concerns over the language of the bill before votes were cast.

“I struggle with the word ‘require’ in this bill,” Del. Scott Wyatt, R-Hanover, said. Wyatt said people who own electric vehicles would seek out places with charging stations on their own accord.

The subcommittee voted on four other bills during this session, with three bills passing and one other bill tabled. The bills the CCT subcommittee reported included legislation for affordable housing, regulation on material recovery facilities and trees for the town of Vienna. The other tabled bill, SB 1163, would have added Accomack County to the already established community revitalization fund for the city of Richmond to prevent neighborhood deterioration.