Committee hears bill to create voluntary sticker program to alert first responders to electric or hybrid vehicles

Representative Reed told the House Committee on State Government and Elections that House Bill 5,193 would create a voluntary notification and sticker program so owners of electric or hybrid vehicles can alert first responders and so fire departments can receive quarterly address lists. Reed said the program is ‘‘completely voluntary’’ and is designed to give responding crews advance information about electric or hybrid vehicles at a location.

Representative Melissa Kotter gave personal testimony to the committee. Kotter described a 2017 house fire in which a lithium battery used for a toy ignited; she said the family lost their home and pets and urged committee members to support measures that could prevent similar tragedies. ‘‘If there’s anything that we can do that can help prevent other people from experiencing that tragedy, I support it fully,’’ Kotter said.

Paul Valletta, representing the Rhode Island Firefighters, told the committee that electric vehicle fires present distinctive hazards: they burn hotter, can explode, can reignite hours or days after initial suppression and can release hydrogen fluoride, which he called ‘‘very deadly’’ and capable of burning respiratory tracts and skin. Valletta said municipal reporting rules likely undercount such fires because the state fire marshal is only called in for death, serious injury or suspected arson. He said the sticker program would help firefighters decide whether to remove a vehicle from a garage before fire spread and suggested the state’s hazardous‑materials right‑to‑know statute (R.I. Gen. Laws 28‑21) as a possible legal route for sharing information with local fire departments.

Representative Reed provided figures from national and state registration data to describe the scope: ‘‘There are 2,400,000 electric vehicles registered in the United States as of 02/2022. As of February, there were 12,272 electric or hybrid vehicles registered in this state, Rhode Island,’’ he said. Reed also said the state fire marshal reported 18 lithium‑battery fires with a confirmed cause between February 2022 and February 2024.

Committee members asked about placement of the sticker, data privacy and DMV costs for producing quarterly lists. Paul Valletta and Representative Reed discussed that a garage‑facing sticker might be most effective and that the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank could handle any small startup costs; DMV raised questions about whether federal law limits data sharing. The committee did not vote on HB 5,193; the meeting had opened with a procedural motion that placed all seven bills on hold for further study.