Two Rhode Island legislators recently introduced legislation to speed up the adoption of EVs to meet the state's 2030 greenhouse gas reduction mandate. 

Senator Alana DeMario and Representative Terri Cortvriend presented H7653 and S2448 to "create a process to plan for charging infrastructure and other changes to make it possible for all new car buyers in Rhode Island to choose an electric vehicle by 2030," according to a press release from Green Energy Consumers Alliance. 

The bill, known as the Electric Transportation Act, was drafted with assistance from Green Energy Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit working to harness the power of energy consumers to speed the transition to a low-carbon future and Coltura, a nonprofit working to improve climate, health, and equity by accelerating the transition from gasoline and diesel to cleaner alternatives.

The Electric Transportation Act will:

• Improve air quality in communities overburdened by pollution.
• Require 100 percent light duty state vehicles procurements to be electric by 2027.
• Require all new school bus procurements to be electric by 2030. 
• Establish purchase incentives for new EVs.
• Prepare state facilities to install charging infrastructure. 
• Reduce vehicle-miles-travelled by at least 4 percent by 2030. 
• Align Rhode Island's vehicle regulations with California.
• Increase opportunities for lower-income Rhode Islanders to acquire used EVs.