AG Brown joins coalition to protect EV infrastructure investment from federal attempt to freeze buildout

Attorney General Nick Brown joined a coalition of state attorneys general urging the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to withdraw a proposal that would effectively freeze future federal funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure by imposing an unworkable and unreasonable requirement that they be made entirely with U.S. components.

"The federal government already tried to cut off congressionally mandated funding for electric vehicle infrastructure once. We went to court, and we won and protected those funds," said Brown. "Now they're trying to do an end run around the courts and find a new pretext for killing infrastructure investment. We'll continue to oppose these moves."

Under current federal rules, EV chargers funded through federal infrastructure programs must be assembled in the United States, and the minimum cost of components manufactured in the United States must be at least 55%. Under the new proposal, FHWA considers raising the 55% threshold to 100%. The coalition argues that the new proposal sets a standard that manufacturers cannot currently meet.

The coalition argues that imposing a 100% domestic component cost requirement would likely halt many existing projects to expand EV charging networks, because no chargers currently meet that standard. FHWA's proposal conflicts with federal law, exceeds the agency's authority, ignores the reliance of states and manufacturers on existing rules, and is arbitrary and capricious.

Manufacturers and states have already made significant investments based on the current framework, which gradually increases domestic manufacturing requirements to the 55% level established in federal law. Abruptly changing that standard would undermine those investments and slow the growth of the domestic EV charger manufacturing industry in the United States.

The Administration previously tried to illegally terminate billions in congressionally approved funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, including the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program. Washington led a coalition of states in suing FHWA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) over this attempt. In January, a federal judge issued a final ruling in favor of Washington, protecting $57 million in funds for Washington. The decision barred DOT and FHWA from suspending or revoking the plaintiff states' approved electric vehicle infrastructure plans in the future and from withholding their NEVI Formula Program funds except for reasons expressly contemplated by Congress in the NEVI provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. FHWA's proposal is nothing but another attempt to freeze infrastructure buildout for electric vehicles, after having failed the first time.

The coalition is urging FHWA to withdraw the proposal and maintain the current approach, which supports both domestic manufacturing and the timely deployment of EV charging infrastructure nationwide.

Brown joined the Colorado-led coalition with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Kentucky.

Read the comment letter to the Federal Highway Administration.