The Georgetown Climate Center works closely with states and other stakeholders to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by enabling the transition to zero-emission, electric transportation. States are taking a leadership role by providing incentives for electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure and adding EVs to public fleets. To support these efforts, Georgetown Climate Center develops legal and policy resources for states and other stakeholders and facilitates conversations and meetings among states. Below are highlights of the Georgetown Climate Center's work in this area.

State Electric Vehicle Policy Resources and Legal Analyses

To reduce air pollution and GHG emissions, states are launching ambitious policies and programs to accelerate EV sales. Georgetown Climate Center has developed policy resources to support state EV deployment, including reports on state EV programs and potential funding sources to support state action. Many of these resources build on discussions with state agencies through the Transportation and Climate Initiative and other multi-state collaborations.

• Federal Income Tax Treatment of Workplace Electric Vehicle Charging as a Fringe Benefit (June 2016) - This issue brief analyzes the federal income tax treatment of workplace electric vehicle charging as a fringe benefit. The analysis examines the current statutory and regulatory framework governing the tax treatment of fringe benefits and describes actions that policymakers could take to provide clarity to employers who provide complimentary workplace charging to their workforces.
• Finding the Funds: Options for State Plug-In Electric Vehicle Programs (April 2015)– This paper identifies options for states to fund electric vehicle (EV) programs and highlights ways that states across the U.S. are supporting EVs. At a time when resources are scarce, states have found creative ways to fund their EV programs. This report provides an overview of the types of EV programs that states are implementing and examines funding sources that support these programs.  
• Supporting the Plug-In Electric Vehicle Market: Best Practices from State PEV Programs (January 2015) – This paper captures best practices in state-sponsored plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) buyer incentive programs, DC fast charging programs, and PEV awareness initiatives, as presented at the Transportation and Climate Initiative’s2014 Plug-In Electric Vehicle Workshop.

Leading By Example: EV Fleets

Many state and local governments want to “lead by example” on clean transportation by adding electric vehicles to their fleets and demonstrating the benefits of transitioning to EVs. To support government fleet initiatives, Georgetown Climate Center partnered with CALSTART, NESCAUM, Atlas Public Policy, Ross Strategic, the California Department of General Services, and Clean Cities Coalitions on the EV Smart Fleets project. The project team explored the possibility of a multi-state procurement for passenger EVs and published several policy resources on public flee procurement. The following analytical tools, procurement analyses, and case studies were developed through the EV Smart Fleets project.

• Capturing the Federal EV Tax Credit for Public Fleets (Case Study, April 2017)– This detailed case study describes a multi-jurisdictional electric vehicle (EV) procurement of 90 EVs for ten county and municipal public fleets that captured the value of the federal electric vehicle tax credit.