OHMGIRL(S) In Olympia!
THEY’RE STARTING TO WRITE THE TALK IN WASHINGTON STATE!!!
On January 29, 2009, the first public hearing of Proposed House Bill 1481 (legislation as related to vehicle electrification) was held in Hearing Room B at the State Capitol in Olympia, WA. And, of course, Deb was there in the middle of it all, touting the wonders of electric vehicle driving, and showing off photos of the wonderful Zoe ZENN Car.
The proposed legislation will:
1. Provide tax incentives for electric vehicles, batteries, and installation of electric vehicle infrastructure;
2. Promote the use of electric vehicles by fleets operated by the State’s governmental units;
3. Require the installation of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
4. Promote education of a workforce capable of maintaining electric vehicles and the infrastructure
(See *full text* of bill at: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx.)
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The results of the hearing were very positive and the following points outline what occurred:
Firstly:
A *thousand* kudos to fellow Seattle Electric Vehicle Association (SEVA) [EB2] member Stephen Johnsen for his hard work. Stephen was asked by the House Tech Committee, with only 48 hours’ notice, to present a 12-minute PowerPoint presentation on Electric Cars and charging stations. He gave a clear, concise, well-put together and thoughtful show. Stephen also bought along a type of charging station typical of existing Marinas and RV Parks (talk to him for details – I get lost in the tech-speak) that illustrated to the House Committee that charging stations are already out there.
Kudos also to SEVA member and Plug-In America Board member Daniel Davids, who co-presented with Stephen, for bringing in an example of a current lithium ion battery to show the House Committee that lithium ion packs are not the cumbersome, explosive devices of days past.SEVA Legislative Committee organizer Jeff Finn, owner/project manager of the “Volt Runner”, was ill and unable to attend the hearing, but gave his support via email the night before, helping to massage some legislator-appropriate language into the presentation. He was not only missed by us, but also by Representative Deb Eddy, D-Kirkland, out loud in front of everyone. “Get Well, Jeff!”, she said to all from the podium.
Secondly:
Every person or group that testified at the hearing was basically in support of the bill! This included those who have some concerns about particular sections and/or wording, namely lobbyists and representatives from the construction and real estate worlds. But even they all expressed interest in very much wanting to work with the HB 1421 Committee to see the bill actually happen!
Thirdly:
Every House Committee member has now heard me gush greatly over Zoe ZENN car and now has a copy of my Infamous Christmas Card of last month: the one with me in my Santa hat leaning on Zoë ZENN car, swinging the extension cord, and saying “Hope You Get A Charge Out Of Your Holidays!” I really got a kick out of testifying as a Regular-Person-Who-Just-Happens-To-Drive-An-NEV-Daily-In-Washington-State!
Lastly:
KIRO-TV was there, taping the whole hearing and wound up following me to a meeting I had also scheduled for the same day with Dave Kois and Gene Seymour (no relation, but he’s still a nice guy!) who have an electric car conversion company in Olympia, WA called Powered By DC, to do a piece on their company and take a ride in their fabulous Toyota RAV4. Dave and Gene want to change the way the world drives – one conversion at a time – and are targeting the SUV market. Definitely check out their website: www.poweredbydc.com.
Is this all awesome news for EV’s or what? OHM, GIRL!
