Cal. BPC § 12209.7 — California Code / Code bpc / Division 5 / Chapter 2 / Article 2 / Section 12209.7
Section 12209.7
Status: in_force

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Correct” has the same meaning as defined in Section 12500.

(2) “Electric vehicle charger operated by a public agency” means an electric vehicle charger that is available for commercial use by the public and that is either owned by a public agency or for which the public agency has entered into an agreement to have the electric vehicle charger installed, maintained, or serviced, to have the revenues from the electric vehicle charger collected, or to otherwise have electric vehicle charging services performed on behalf of the public agency.

(3) “Incorrect” has the same meaning as defined in Section 12500.

(4) “Local publicly owned electric utility” has the same meaning as defined in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

(5) “Public agency” means any city, county, city and county, district, or other local authority or public body of, or within, this state.

(b) Except as provided in subdivision (g), a county sealer may test and verify as correct any electric vehicle charger operated by a public agency that is located in the county in which the sealer has jurisdiction.

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (g), a county sealer, upon testing and finding that an electric vehicle charger operated by a public agency is incorrect, shall cause it to be marked with a tag or other suitable device with the words “out of order” and require the charger to be repaired or corrected within 30 days, subject to retesting and verification by the county sealer.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (g), a county sealer may levy a civil penalty, pursuant to Section 12015.3, against a public agency, or a vendor or entity contracted by a public agency to provide and maintain electric vehicle charger services on behalf of a public agency, that removes or obliterates any tag or device placed, or caused to be placed, by a sealer on an electric vehicle charger operated by the public agency. For purposes of levying a civil penalty under this subdivision, a person described in Section 12015.3 includes a public agency and any contracted vendor or entity.

(e) Pursuant to Section 12240, a county board of supervisors may, by ordinance, charge an annual registration fee for the cost of inspecting and testing an electric vehicle charger, as authorized by this section.

(f) If a public agency owns an electric vehicle charger and leases the electric vehicle charger to another entity that operates the electric vehicle charger commercially, the entity that operates the electric vehicle charger commercially shall be the entity responsible for compliance with this section regarding that electric vehicle charger.

(g) (1) Subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) do not apply to an electric vehicle charger operated by a local publicly owned electric utility if the local publicly owned electric utility does all of the following:

(A) Is responsible for conducting field testing to validate the compliance with specification and user requirements and measurement and transactional accuracy of its commercial electric vehicle chargers that are available for public use.

(B) Uses field inspection and testing practices equivalent to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Handbook 44 “Specifications, Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices” inspection and test procedures for electric vehicle fueling systems and uses testing standards and equipment that are traceable to standards approved and maintained by the NIST or, in the absence of a standard approved and maintained by the NIST, a calibration laboratory accredited under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 17025 standard.

(C) Tests and conducts a field inspection for each electric vehicle charger at least once every six months in accordance with subparagraph (B).

(D) Documents the results of a test and field inspection described in subparagraph (C) and any action taken to address a failed test or field inspection, retains that documentation for at least two years, and makes that documentation available to any person or entity that submits a request for it pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(E) Conspicuously affixes a clear and legible identification notification on each electric vehicle charger that includes all of the following:

(i) The name and logo of the local publicly owned electric utility.

(ii) A statement that the electric vehicle charger is operated by the local publicly owned electric utility.

(iii) The local publicly owned electric utility’s customer service contact information for consumer comments, complaints, and questions.

(F) Sends a notice to the applicable county sealer indicating the local publicly owned electric utility’s intent to comply with this paragraph.

(2) If the county sealer finds that a local publicly owned electric utility is not in compliance with paragraph (1), the county sealer shall notify the utility director of the local publicly owned electric utility that is not in compliance and describe the areas of noncompliance. Within 30 days of receiving that notice, the local publicly owned electric utility shall respond to the county sealer and explain the actions taken by the local publicly owned electric utility to comply. If the local publicly owned electric utility fails to provide a response, the governing board of the local publicly owned electric utility shall discuss the notice of noncompliance at its next publicly noticed regular meeting.

(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2026.