II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 507 

To increase deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in lowincome communities and communities of color, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 1, 2021 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To increase deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in low-income communities and communities 

of color, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electric Vehicles for 

5 Underserved Communities Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ELECTRIC VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘electric 

9 vehicle’’ means— 


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1 (A) a Zero-Emission Vehicle (as defined in 

2 section 88.102–94 of title 40, Code of Federal 

3 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enact4 ment of this Act)); and 

5 (B) a vehicle that, under any possible oper6 ational mode or condition, produces zero ex7 haust emissions of— 

8 (i) any criteria pollutant for which 

9 there are national ambient air quality 

10 standards under section 109 of the Clean 

11 Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409); 

12 (ii) any precursor pollutant; or 

13 (iii) any greenhouse gas. 

14 (2) ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRA15 STRUCTURE.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘electric ve17 hicle charging infrastructure’’ means any prop18 erty (not including a building and its structural 

19 components) if that property is— 

20 (i) made available for use by members 

21 of the general public; and 

22 (ii) used to charge or fuel electric ve23 hicles, but only if the property is located at 

24 the point where the vehicles are charged or 

25 fueled. 


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1 (B) INCLUSION OF UTILITY SERVICE CON2 NECTIONS.—The term ‘‘electric vehicle charging 

3 infrastructure’’ includes any utility service con4 nections, utility panel upgrades, or contribu5 tions in aid of construction (within the meaning 

6 of section 118 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986) that are required for the charging or 

8 fueling of electric vehicles. 

9 (3) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘greenhouse 

10 gas’’ means any of the following: 

11 (A) Carbon dioxide. 

12 (B) Methane. 

13 (C) Nitrous oxide. 

14 (D) Hydrofluorocarbons. 

15 (E) Perfluorocarbons. 

16 (F) Sulfur hexafluoride. 

17 (4) PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘publicly ac19 cessible’’ means— 

20 (i) with respect to electric vehicle 

21 charging infrastructure, that the electric 

22 vehicle charging infrastructure is available, 

23 at zero or reasonable cost, to members of 

24 the public for the purpose of charging a 


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1 privately owned or leased electric vehicle; 

2 and 

3 (ii) with respect to an electric vehicle, 

4 that the electric vehicle is available for use 

5 by members of the general public as part 

6 of a ride service or vehicle sharing service 

7 or program. 

8 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘publicly ac9 cessible’’ includes electric vehicle charging infra10 structure and electric vehicles described in 

11 clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, of subpara12 graph (A) that are located within or around— 

13 (i) public sidewalks and streets; 

14 (ii) public parks; 

15 (iii) public buildings, including— 

16 (I) libraries; 

17 (II) schools; and 

18 (III) government offices; 

19 (iv) public parking; 

20 (v) shopping centers; and 

21 (vi) commuter transit hubs. 

22 (5) RELEVANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘relevant 

23 program’’ means a program of the Department of 

24 Energy, including— 


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1 (A) the State energy program established 

2 under part D of title III the Energy Policy and 

3 Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.); 

4 (B) the Clean Cities program; 

5 (C) the Energy Efficiency and Conserva6 tion Block Grant Program established under 

7 section 542(a) of the Energy Independence and 

8 Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17152(a)); 

9 (D) a loan guarantee made under title 

10 XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

11 U.S.C. 16511 et seq.); and 

12 (E) any other program of the Department 

13 of Energy, as the Secretary determines to be 

14 appropriate. 

15 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Energy. 

17 (7) UNDERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COM18 MUNITY.—The term ‘‘underserved or disadvantaged 

19 community’’ means a community located within a 

20 ZIP Code or census tract that is identified as— 

21 (A) a low-income community; 

22 (B) a community of color; 

23 (C) a Tribal community; 


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1 (D) having a disproportionately low num2 ber of electric vehicle charging stations per cap3 ita, compared to similar areas; or 

4 (E) any other community that the Sec5 retary determines is disproportionately vulner6 able to, or bears a disproportionate burden of, 

7 any combination of economic, social, environ8 mental, and climate stressors. 

9 SEC. 3. EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN UN10 DERSERVED OR DISADVANTAGED COMMU11 NITIES. 

12 (a) ASSESSMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

14 an assessment of the state of, challenges to, and op15 portunities for, deployment of electric vehicle charg16 ing infrastructure in underserved or disadvantaged 

17 communities in urban, suburban, and rural commu18 nities throughout the United States. 

19 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out the as20 sessment under paragraph (1), the Secretary, to the 

21 maximum extent practicable, shall work with each 

22 State to enumerate and identify, with detail at the 

23 level of ZIP Codes and census tracts, in urban, sub24 urban, and rural areas within each State— 


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1 (A) the number of existing and planned 

2 publicly accessible level 2 charging stations and 

3 direct current fast charging stations for individ4 ually owned light-duty and medium-duty electric 

5 vehicles; 

6 (B) the number of existing and planned 

7 level 2 charging stations and direct current fast 

8 charging stations for public sector and commer9 cial— 

10 (i) fleet electric vehicles; and 

11 (ii) medium- and heavy-duty electric 

12 vehicles; and 

13 (C) the number and type of electric vehicle 

14 charging stations installed in or around, or 

15 available to occupants of— 

16 (i) public housing; or 

17 (ii) affordable housing. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

20 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

22 the House of Representatives a report on the results of 

23 the assessment conducted under subsection (a), which 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) describe the state of deployment of electric 

2 vehicle charging infrastructure in underserved or 

3 disadvantaged communities in urban, suburban, and 

4 rural areas in the United States, including— 

5 (A) the state of deployment of electric ve6 hicle charging infrastructure that is— 

7 (i) publicly accessible; 

8 (ii) installed in or around, or available 

9 to occupants of— 

10 (I) public housing; or 

11 (II) affordable housing; 

12 (iii) installed in or around, or avail13 able to occupants of, multi-unit dwellings; 

14 (iv) available to public sector and 

15 commercial fleets; or 

16 (v) installed in, or available at, places 

17 of work; 

18 (B) the policies, plans, and programs that 

19 States, cities, utilities, and private entities are 

20 using to encourage greater deployment and use 

21 of electric vehicles and any associated electric 

22 vehicle charging infrastructure, including pro23 grams to encourage deployment of publicly ac24 cessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure 


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1 that is available to residents of publicly or pri2 vately owned multi-unit dwellings; 

3 (C) ownership models for level 2 charging 

4 stations and direct current fast charging sta5 tions located in or around— 

6 (i) residential multi-unit dwellings; 

7 (ii) commercial buildings; and 

8 (iii) publicly accessible areas; 

9 (D) mechanisms for financing electric vehi10 cle charging infrastructure; and 

11 (E) the rates charged for the use of level 

12 2 charging stations and direct current fast 

13 charging stations; 

14 (2) identify current barriers to expanding the 

15 deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastruc16 ture in underserved or disadvantaged communities in 

17 urban, suburban, and rural areas, including barriers 

18 to expanding the deployment of publicly accessible 

19 electric vehicle charging infrastructure; 

20 (3) identify the potential for, and barriers to, 

21 recruiting and entering into contracts with locally 

22 owned small and disadvantaged businesses, including 

23 women- and minority-owned businesses, to deploy 

24 electric vehicle charging infrastructure in underVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S507.IS S507

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1 served or disadvantaged communities in urban, sub2 urban, and rural areas; 

3 (4) compile and provide an analysis of best 

4 practices and policies used by State and local gov5 ernments, nonprofit organizations, and private enti6 ties to increase deployment of electric vehicle charg7 ing infrastructure in underserved or disadvantaged 

8 communities in urban, suburban, and rural areas, 

9 including best practices and policies relating to— 

10 (A) public outreach and engagement; 

11 (B) increasing deployment of publicly ac12 cessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure; 

13 and 

14 (C) increasing deployment of electric vehi15 cle charging infrastructure in or around pub16 licly or privately owned multi-unit dwellings; 

17 (5) to the maximum extent practicable, enu18 merate and identify, with detail at the level of ZIP 

19 Codes and census tracts, in urban, suburban, and 

20 rural areas within each State— 

21 (A) the number of existing and planned 

22 publicly accessible level 2 charging stations and 

23 direct current fast charging stations for individ24 ually owned light-duty and medium-duty electric 

25 vehicles; 


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1 (B) the number of existing and planned 

2 level 2 charging stations and direct current fast 

3 charging stations for public sector and commer4 cial— 

5 (i) fleet electric vehicles; and 

6 (ii) medium- and heavy-duty electric 

7 vehicles; and 

8 (C) the number and type of electric vehicle 

9 charging stations installed in or around, or 

10 available to occupants of— 

11 (i) public housing; or 

12 (ii) affordable housing; and 

13 (6) describe the methodology used to obtain the 

14 information provided in the report. 

15 (c) UPDATED ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 5 years 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 (1) update the assessment conducted under 

19 subsection (a); and 

20 (2) submit to the Committee on Energy and 

21 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

22 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep23 resentatives and make publicly available a report 

24 that— 


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1 (A) updates the information reported 

2 under subsection (b); and 

3 (B) includes a description of case studies 

4 and key lessons learned after the date on which 

5 the report under subsection (b) was submitted 

6 with respect to expanding the deployment of 

7 electric vehicle charging infrastructure in un8 derserved or disadvantaged communities in 

9 urban, suburban, and rural areas. 

10 SEC. 4. ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING EQUITY PROGRAM. 

11 (a) PROGRAM.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

13 program, to be known as the ‘‘EV Charging Equity Pro14 gram’’, to increase the deployment and accessibility of 

15 electric vehicle charging infrastructure in underserved or 

16 disadvantaged communities by— 

17 (1) providing technical assistance to eligible in18 dividuals and entities described in subsection (b); 

19 and 

20 (2) awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to 

21 eligible individuals and entities described in sub22 section (b) for projects that increase the deployment 

23 and accessibility of electric vehicle charging infra24 structure, including electric vehicle charging infra25 structure that is— 


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1 (A) publicly accessible; 

2 (B) located within or around, or is easily 

3 accessible to residents of— 

4 (i) public or affordable housing; 

5 (ii) multi-unit dwellings; or 

6 (iii) single-family homes; or 

7 (C) located within or around, or is easily 

8 accessible to, places of work, subject to the con9 dition that the electric vehicle charging infra10 structure is publicly accessible not less than 5 

11 days per week. 

12 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

14 eligible individual or entity referred to in subsection 

15 (a) is— 

16 (A) an individual or household that owns 

17 any property on which a project will be carried 

18 out; 

19 (B) a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 

20 government; 

21 (C) an agency or department of a State, 

22 local, Tribal, or territorial government; 

23 (D) an electric utility, including— 

24 (i) a municipally owned electric utility; 

25 (ii) a publicly owned electric utility; 


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1 (iii) an investor-owned utility; and 

2 (iv) a rural electric cooperative; 

3 (E) a nonprofit organization or institution; 

4 (F) a public housing authority; 

5 (G) an institution of higher education (as 

6 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 

8 (H) a local small or disadvantaged busi9 ness; or 

10 (I) a partnership between 2 or more indi11 viduals or entities described in subparagraphs 

12 (A) through (H). 

13 (2) UPDATES.—In carrying out the EV Charg14 ing Equity Program, the Secretary may establish a 

15 list of eligible individuals and entities that includes 

16 individuals or entities not described in paragraph (1) 

17 or excludes individuals or entities described in that 

18 paragraph if the Secretary determines that including 

19 or excluding the individual or entity would be bene20 ficial to increasing the deployment and accessibility 

21 of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in under22 served or disadvantaged communities. 

23 (c) COST SHARE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), the amount of a grant awarded under 


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1 this section for a project shall not exceed 80 percent 

2 of the costs of the project. 

3 (2) SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES.—The amount of a 

4 grant awarded under this section for a project that 

5 involves, as a primary focus, single-family homes 

6 shall not exceed 60 percent of the costs of the 

7 project. 

8 (d) LIMITATION.—Not more than 15 percent of the 

9 total amount of grants awarded under this section each 

10 fiscal year may be awarded for projects that involve, as 

11 a primary focus, single-family homes. 

12 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants and providing 

13 technical assistance under this section, the Secretary shall 

14 give priority to projects that— 

15 (1) provide the greatest benefit to the greatest 

16 number of people within an underserved or dis17 advantaged community; 

18 (2) incorporate renewable energy resources; 

19 (3) maximize local job creation, particularly 

20 among low-income, women, and minority workers; or 

21 (4) utilize or involve locally owned small and 

22 disadvantaged businesses, including women- and mi23 nority-owned businesses. 

24 (f) PUBLIC NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR APPLICA25 TIONS.—The Secretary shall publish in the Federal RegVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S507.IS S507

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1 ister and such other publications as the Secretary con2 siders to be appropriate a notice and request for applica3 tions to carry out projects under the EV Charging Equity 

4 Program. 

5 (g) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the EV 

7 Charging Equity Program, the Secretary shall estab8 lish an education and outreach campaign to ensure 

9 that information regarding the program and the 

10 benefits of, and opportunities for, electric vehicle 

11 charging infrastructure is made available to individ12 uals and relevant entities that live within or serve 

13 underserved or disadvantaged communities. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the edu15 cation and outreach campaign established under this 

16 subsection shall include— 

17 (A) the development and dissemination of 

18 an electric vehicle charging resource guide that 

19 is— 

20 (i) maintained electronically on a 

21 website; 

22 (ii) available to the public, free of 

23 charge; and 

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1 in or serve underserved or disadvantaged 

2 communities; 

3 (B) targeted outreach toward, and coordi4 nated public outreach with, relevant State, 

5 local, and Tribal entities, nonprofit organiza6 tions, and institutions of higher education (as 

7 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that are located 

9 within or serve underserved or disadvantaged 

10 communities; and 

11 (C) any other forms of education or out12 reach that the Secretary determines to be ap13 propriate to increase awareness of, and access 

14 to, the EV Charging Equity Program. 

15 (h) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date on which the EV Charging Equity Program 

17 is established under this section, and not less frequently 

18 than once every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re20 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

21 Commerce of the House of Representatives and make pub22 licly available a report on the status of the EV Charging 

23 Equity Program, including— 


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1 (1) a list and description of projects for which 

2 a grant or technical assistance has been provided 

3 under this section; and 

4 (2) a description of the amount of funding or 

5 assistance provided with respect to each of those 

6 projects. 

7 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $96,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030. 

10 SEC. 5. ENSURING PROGRAM BENEFITS FOR UNDER11 SERVED AND DISADVANTAGED COMMU12 NITIES. 

13 In administering a relevant program, the Secretary, 

14 to the maximum extent practicable, shall invest or direct 

15 available and relevant programmatic resources to ensure 

16 that each relevant program— 

17 (1) promotes electric vehicle charging infra18 structure; 

19 (2) supports clean and multi-modal transpor20 tation; 

21 (3) provides improved air quality and emissions 

22 reductions; and 

23 (4) prioritizes the needs of underserved or dis24 advantaged communities. 

Æ 


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