Nina Smith<\/strong>, Governor’s Office: 410-533-0363<\/a> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n GOVERNOR O\u2019MALLEY, PRESIDING OFFICERS SIGN LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, SAVE CONSUMERS MONEY AND\u00a0SUPPORT LOCAL GREEN JOBS<\/strong><\/p>\n Legislation Will Provide Incentives to Expand the Purchase of Electric Vehicles and Recharging Stations<\/em> \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n ANNAPOLIS, MD (May 7, 2014)<\/strong>\u00a0—\u00a0Providing financial incentives to expand the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles and recharging stations as a means to improve air quality, save consumers money and support local green jobs,\u00a0Governor Martin O\u2019Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., and House Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones\u00a0on Monday\u00a0signed the Electric Vehicles and Recharging Equipment-Rebates and Tax Credits bill (HB 1345 \/ SB 908).\u00a0 The legislation extends a tax credit on the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles for three years, increases the value of the tax credit provided to most vehicles and enhances the incentive on the purchase and installation of electric vehicle recharging station equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cI applaud my colleagues in the General Assembly for working closely with us to pass this bill that will improve air quality, save hard-working Maryland consumers money and support green jobs here in Maryland,\u201d said\u00a0Governor Martin O\u2019Malley<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cA key component of our strategic efforts to reduce Maryland\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 is to make owning an electric vehicle more convenient and economical, which this legislation accomplishes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaking it easier to own and operate an electric vehicle is an important part of building a healthy and sustainable environment for Maryland,\u201d said\u00a0Lt. Governor Anthony Brown<\/strong>. \u00a0\u201cWhen we work together with advocates, businesses, and legislative leaders, we can protect our environment while also creating jobs for Maryland\u2019s workers.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n The legislation will allow the State to continue to offer a tax credit on the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles through June 2017 and, in most cases, increases the value of the tax credit by changing the calculation based on a vehicle\u2019s battery size.\u00a0 Once the legislation takes effect\u00a0July 1, 2014, the incentive, up to a maximum of $3,000, will be based on $125 times the number of kilowatt-hours battery capacity.\u00a0 For example, under the current available tax credit that is set to expire this June, Marylanders who purchase a Chevrolet Volt are eligible to receive a $1,000 tax credit.\u00a0 After\u00a0July 1, the tax credit doubles to approximately $2,000 for Marylanders who purchase the Volt.\u00a0 Maryland has committed $1.8 million per fiscal year through\u00a0June 30, 2017, for this tax credit.<\/p>\n \u201cGeneral Motors applauds Governor O\u2019Malley\u2019s leadership to provide incentives that help advance environmentally friendly technologies gain a foothold among consumers.\u00a0 GM and, in particular, our employees at our Baltimore Operations Plant believe that doing right for the environment is good for both business and jobs,\u201d said\u00a0Michael Robinson, General Motors\u2019 Vice President, Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs<\/strong>.\u00a0 GM employees at their Baltimore plant make the electric drive motor and drive unit for the Spark EV plug-in electric vehicle, which is currently sold in Oregon and California.<\/p>\n The legislation also repeals the existing electric vehicle recharging income tax credit and replaces it with an enhanced rebate program that has been expanded to include local and State government.\u00a0 The rebate program, which will be administered by the Maryland Energy Administration and also goes into effect on\u00a0July 1, 2014, will offer more money to individuals, businesses and local and State government for the purchase and installation of recharging stations for plug-in electric vehicles. \u00a0Maryland has committed $600,000 per fiscal year through\u00a0June 30, 2017, for this rebate program.\u00a0 The cost-saving breakdown for the rebate program includes the following:<\/p>\n \u201cMaryland continues\u00a0as a national leader in harnessing the innovation that will move us into the new economy,\u201d said\u00a0Abigail Ross Hopper, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration<\/strong>. \u00a0\u201cThanks to Governor O\u2019Malley and the Maryland legislature, we continue to make vital investments in advancing electric transportation and infrastructure, which promotes energy independence, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves consumers\u2019 money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The incentives, which are subject to available funding, were strongly supported by Maryland\u2019s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (EVIC).\u00a0 The EVIC is made up of automobile manufacturers, dealers, charging station equipment manufacturers, utility companies, electrical workers, State and local government and environmental and energy experts.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe EVIC strongly supported the passage of this legislation to provide the incentives and infrastructure necessary to promote more widespread use of electric vehicles,\u201d said\u00a0Deputy Transportation Secretary and EVIC Chair Wilson H. Parran<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cWe commend the leadership of Governor O\u2019Malley and members of the General Assembly for their ongoing efforts to fight for cleaner air, greener jobs and more cash in the pockets of consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n There are great economic advantages to electric vehicles. \u00a0Electricity is the most widely available source of power and typically costs about two-thirds less than gasoline on a per-mile basis.\u00a0 By 2025, the average zero-emission vehicle driver will save nearly $6,000 in fueling costs over the life of the car.<\/p>\n \u201cToday’s bill signing is another step forward in our efforts to expand electric vehicle ownership in Maryland,\u201d\u00a0Maryland Department of the Environment Deputy Secretary Kathy Kinsey<\/strong>\u00a0said. \u00a0\u201cProviding financial incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and charging stations is among the most effective measures we can take to expand market penetration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MEDIA CONTACTS: Nina Smith, Governor’s Office: 410-533-0363 nina.smith@maryland.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GOVERNOR O\u2019MALLEY, PRESIDING OFFICERS SIGN LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, SAVE CONSUMERS MONEY AND\u00a0SUPPORT LOCAL GREEN JOBS Legislation Will Provide Incentives to Expand the Purchase of Electric Vehicles and Recharging StationsBill Passage Advances Governor\u2019s Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions \u00a0 ANNAPOLIS, MD (May Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clean-air-2","category-governor-omalley","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":911,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions\/911"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
nina.smith@maryland.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Bill Passage Advances Governor\u2019s Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n