LARGO, Fla. — A proposed bill would put the state in control of creating rules for electric vehicle charging stations in Florida and prevent local cities from enacting their own laws.

What You Need To Know

  •  The proposed legislation would prevent local cities from enacting their own laws

  •  Largo passed an EV charging station law in March 2022

  •  Largo Mayor Woody Brown said it's more "preemption" from Tallahassee

  • Florida building code requires 2 EV charging stations for new parking lots with at least 25 spaces

“It would cause our ordinance to be not in compliance,” Largo Mayor Woody Brown said. “We’d have to undo that.”

House Bill 1071, sponsored by Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Hillsborough, and Senate Bill 1084, sponsored by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, would have the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulate EV charging stations, which already oversees gas station pumps. The state lawmakers said they want to see one set of rules for Florida, instead of a patchwork in different counties that could stifle the EV market.

Largo is one of 12 cities in Florida that already has established rules governing the minimum number of EV charging stations needed for new developments. The local ordinance passed in March 2022 and calls for one station for parking lots with 10-25 spaces, two stations for 26-50 spaces, four stations for 51-75 and 6 stations for 76-100 spaces.

“We’ve already got an ordinance in place that was well thought out,” Brown said. “We decided that really we need to have charging at home for people and when they live in apartments…they should have that opportunity.”

The mayor said a new EV charging station was recently installed at Largo City Hall. Brown said he wouldn’t have a problem with the state setting a minimum standard, but the law should not prevent cities from going further.

“It’s basically a preemption that says cities can’t do something which is kind of a theme coming out of Tallahassee recently,” he said.  “I don’t mind the state minimum for cities like ours but it shouldn’t preempt for use from encouraging electrical vehicle charging stations in our new buildings.”

The Florida building code currently requires two EV charging stations for new parking lots with at least 25 spaces.

The EV charging station language in the proposed legislation is a small part of a much larger bill which includes banning the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat. The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture held a hearing on Thursday about the proposed ordinance.