AN ACT to regulate parking in an electric vehicle charging station.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑4.01 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑4.01.  Definitions.

Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply throughout this Chapter to the defined words and phrases and their cognates:

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(7c)      Electric vehicle charging station. – A public or private parking space that is served by charging equipment that has as its primary purpose the transfer of electric energy to a battery or other energy storage device in an electric vehicle.

(7c)(7d)     Employer. – Any person who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle or assigns a person to drive a commercial motor vehicle and would be subject to the alcohol and controlled substance testing provisions of 49 C.F.R. § 382 and also includes any consortium or third‑party administrator administering the alcohol and controlled substance testing program on behalf of owner‑operators subject to the provisions of 49 C.F.R. § 382.

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SECTION 2.  Article 3 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 20‑162.4.  Parking in a space designated as an electric vehicle charging station.

(a)        Prohibited Conduct. – No person may park a vehicle in a space designated with a sign pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as an electric vehicle charging station located on public or private property unless the vehicle is an electric vehicle connected to the charging equipment for the purpose of charging the vehicle.

(b)        Signage. – A space designated as an electric vehicle charging station must be (i) indicated by vertical signage identifying the station as an electric vehicle charging station and indicating that it is only for electric vehicle charging and (ii) the signage must be consistent with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, published by the United States Department of Transportation, and any supplement to that Manual adopted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

(c)        Penalty. – Any person who commits a violation of subsection (a) of this section is guilty of an infraction and subject to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100.00).

(d)       Limitation on Local Jurisdiction. – A city or county may not require by ordinance a different penalty than that provided in subsection (c) of this section for parking a vehicle in an electric vehicle charging station without connecting the vehicle to the charging equipment. The provisions of this section supersede and preempt any ordinance adopted or imposed by a unit of local government that establishes a penalty for parking a vehicle in an electric vehicle charging station without connecting the vehicle to the charging equipment.

(e)        Enforcement. – This section shall be enforced by State, county, city, and other municipal authorities in their respective jurisdictions whether on public or private property in the same manner as is used to enforce other parking laws and ordinances.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2021, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.