Transportation committee recommends ITL on bill to regulate EV charging-station testing and fees

The Transportation Committee voted 12–4 to recommend inexpedient to legislate on Senate Bill 150, which proposed defining electric vehicle charging stations and authorizing annual fees to fund testing and oversight by the Division of Weights and Measures. The committee debate centered on consumer-protection needs, the cost of test equipment and staffing, and whether the proposed fee level and inspector model were workable.

Senator David Waters, the prime sponsor, told the committee he has been working on the measure since the senate hearing and proposed alternatives, including a low annual per-charger fee collected into a fund that would allow the commissioner to phase in inspections once sufficient resources accumulated. "Maybe take a somewhat different approach and to have a much reduced fee annually and then authorize the commissioner to establish a program that might not be annual inspection, but that would begin when there was sufficient funding in a fund that would be set up," Waters said (Senator David Waters, prime sponsor).

Cheryl Ayer, director of the Division of Weights and Measures, testified that the agency currently has statutory responsibility to oversee commercial weighing and measuring devices but lacks a licensing category, fee structure and the costly test equipment needed for some EV chargers. She said test equipment for DC fast-charging emulation can cost on the order of $100,000 and that, at present, no licensed service agency in New Hampshire has the necessary equipment to perform those tests. "We want to make sure that the consumer understands what the cost is per kilowatt. We want to make sure that the consumer knows how much is metered," Ayer said, describing the kinds of transaction transparency the division enforces for other devices.

Commissioner Sean Jasper (Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food) urged the committee not to abandon the effort, arguing the state should start a program at modest scale now rather than fall irretrievably behind as EV infrastructure grows. He said a modest fee could be a small per-day cost to owners of charging stations and that starting early would allow the state to build capacity and audit procedures before the charging network expands further.

Members raised practical questions about who would perform testing, whether private third-party vendors should be allowed, and how a fee would compare to existing weights-and-measures inspection programs for fuel pumps. Some members argued the bill needed more work on fee calibration and on allowing third-party inspectors to reduce costs. Representative Sykes said he favored consumer protections but wanted a different approach; Representative Guyasson moved ITL, seconded by Representative Hill.

Roll call reflected divided views: the motion to ITL passed 12–4. Representatives Sykes, Sinclair, Fox and Quanden voted no; the clerk recorded the remaining votes as yes. The committee closed its executive session on SB150 after the vote. The committee’s action leaves the substantive questions—fee level, test equipment funding, and whether the state or licensed third parties will perform inspections—available for further drafting if the sponsor reintroduces a revised bill.

Provenance: Topic discussion begins at 00:35:25 with the committee opening the work session on SB150 and closes after the roll call at 01:00:56. See transcript excerpts included below for the senator’s framing, weights-and-measures testimony, and roll-call outcome.