Who covers EV charger costs for homes main focus of Illinois mandate

[October 26, 2023]  By Andrew Hensel | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A law in Illinois soon requiring electric vehicle charging stations in the garage of new or renovated homes was signed into law earlier this year. While discussing a trailer bill during veto session, critics said the mandate will increase costs.

State Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, filed Senate Bill 40. She said it puts Illinois on a path to having one million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030. The bill was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June.

On Wednesday, legislators discussed a trailer bill in Senate Bill 384, which changes the language of the original measure by changing multi-unit residential buildings to multi-family residential buildings with parking spaces constructed after the act's effective date.

Feigenholtz defended the measure during Senate debates, saying this would not increase costs for property owners.

"They can't raise the price [of parking] because I have an electric vehicle. That is stipulated in the legislation," Feigenholtz said. "The renter has to pay the cost of the electricity and the charging station."

State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andaluisa, said there is no need for this measure or the previous one.

"Without this legislation, I can't see a situation where any landlord, if I was a tenant, said, 'Hey, I want a charging station, and I am going to pay for it to improve the property value,' that a landlord would say 'no,'" Anderson said.

Feigenholtz said there is a clear need for regulation on this matter.

"I will tell you that there are some landlords, in my district in particular, some condominium associations that really do not know what to do here," Feigenholtz said. "The current law stipulates this as an accommodation and explains who pays for what and under what conditions."

In closing, Anderson reiterated he did not see the logic in this measure and urged a no vote from his peers.

"I would like to meet the landlord that says, 'yeah, you're going to pay me $10,000 to put this in, but no, I'm not going to put it in to improve my property value," Anderson said. "Logically, that does not make sense, and I can't imagine a scenario where that is true."

If the tenant removes the electric vehicle charging system, SB 40 also allows landlords to charge a security deposit to cover the costs of restoring the property to its original condition.

The trailer bill, SB 834, passed after Wednesday's Senate debate.

In 2021, Pritzker signed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois Act into law, incentivizing EV production across the state. There are also state tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles.