California Air Resources Board

On July 10, 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 123 (Committee of Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 52, Statutes of 2023) was signed into law modifying SB 454, the "Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act". SB 123 harmonizes requirements between the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Standards Regulation and the federal funding requirements in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program established in 2022. Additionally, SB 123 grants the California Energy Commission (CEC) authority to develop a new regulation that will supersede the current CARB-adopted rule.

Until the CEC adopts a newer regulation, SB 123 provides CARB with the authority to amend and enforce the regulation consistent with the new law. CARB recognizes that SB 123 has gone into effect a few days after Level 2 AC chargers newly installed in California were required to include an EMV chip reader. Going forward, CARB will enforce compliance with the payment hardware requirements as described in SB 123. For example, if Level 2 charging stations were installed after July 1, 2023 that do not include an EMV chip reader as required by the current EVSE Standards Regulation, CARB will not enforce the chip reader requirement for those stations because it is not a requirement outlined in SB 123.

Moving forward, SB 123 is law and the requirements outlined in SB 123 supersede the requirements currently in CARB’s EVSE Standards Regulation. CARB staff are currently evaluating any further implications the new law may have on the current EVSE Standards Regulation and may amend the EVSE Standards Regulation at a future date to provide greater clarity in the interim period until the CEC establishes a new regulation.