Question: Can owners of parking lots with designated electric vehicle parking stalls that have EV-charging stations require the vehicle to be actively charging in order to use the stall? Is the designation of the EV stall a separate requirement under Hawaii law, with the ability to charge your electric vehicle while in the stall optional?
Answer: State law does not address the issue of whether an electric vehicle parked in a designated EV stall is required to be actively charging.
"It would be up to the owner or manager of the parking lot to decide whether they wanted to impose such rules, and if so, post the necessary signage," said Alan Yonan, spokesman for the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s State Energy Office.
That said, EV drivers are encouraged to be considerate when using public-charging facilities.
"With everyone’s kokua, Hawaii can maintain its position as one of the nation’s leading states for EV ownership," Yonan said.
Section 291-71 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes requires "places of public accommodation with at least 100 parking spaces for use by the general public to have at least one parking space exclusively for electric vehicles and equipped with an electric vehicle charging system …"
The law also states that the spaces shall be "designated, clearly marked, and the exclusive designation enforced," Yonan said.
We asked Yonan if anything had changed since former state Rep. K. Mark Takai told Kokua Line in 2013 that the law requiring EV parking was basically unenforceable, because there were no provisions for enforcement or penalties. (See bit.ly/1FCoHHe.)
Yonan said two bills addressing the enforcement issue were introduced during the 2015 legislative session, but neither was approved.
Question: Are condominium or homeowners associations required by state law to provide charging stations for those with electric autos? Where can we secure guidelines applicable to accommodate those who own electric vehicles? We should ensure that those who opt to plug in are charged for same versus having the associations pick up the "charge."
Answer: There is no law or requirement that condo/homeowner associations provide parking spaces for electric vehicles or charging stations, said Yonan, the state’s Energy Office spokesman.
Neither can those associations prevent a homeowner from installing a charging station, he said.
As explained above, Section 291-71 of the Hawaii Revised statutes only requires "places of public accommodation" with at least 100 public parking spaces to have at least one space exclusively for electric vehicles and equipped with a charging system.
Meanwhile, Section 196-7.5 of the HRS says "no person shall be prevented" from installing an EV charging system on or near the parking stall of any multi-family residential dwelling or townhouse that the person owns.
In this case, the individual owner is responsible for all costs.
Yonan noted that lawmakers, during the 2015 legislative session, approved Senate Bill 1316, "which establishes a working group to examine the issues regarding requests to the board of directors of an association of apartment owners, condominium association, cooperative housing corporation, or planned community association regarding the installation of electric vehicle charging systems."
In Hawaii, about 39 percent of all households reside in multifamily dwellings, he said.
For more information on laws related to electric vehicles, go to the State Energy Office website: energy.hawaii.gov.
Mahalo
To a lady who was ahead of me at the cashier at Liliha Foodland. She asked me if the plate of sushi I had was all I was buying. I said that was all I could eat. She offered to pay for it. I said that was not necessary. But she paid for it! I will now pay it forward. — June
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