TLDR
Governor Newsom signed six bills on September 20 that streamline EV charger inspections, extend streamlined permitting to related site work, and cap permit fees for Level 2 charging at multifamily housing from mid-2027 (2028 in smaller cities and counties) through 2036. Colorado awarded $23.2 million on September 22 to build 270 more fast-charging ports at 35 locations, a 16% jump in the state's existing network. PSE&G's Off-Peak Charging Credit for New Jersey EV owners ends October 1, closing out a program the utility stopped accepting new enrollments for in January. New York City hired Brooklyn-based It's Electric to install more than 600 new curbside Level 2 chargers across the five boroughs over the next three years, nearly tripling the city's pilot network. And the Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Q2 report, released September 24, shows EV sales posted their best quarter since the federal tax credit expired, though volume is still down 20.5% from a year ago.
Correction, September 30, 2026. This issue misdescribed part of California's September 20 package. The battery label rule is SB 615, not SB 1267. The right to install a charger in an HOA already existed in Civil Code 4745, so it is not new with this package. And AB 1820 and SB 969 do not apply yet: SB 969 takes effect January 1, 2027, and AB 1820 applies from July 1, 2027, or January 1, 2028 in cities and counties with fewer than 200,000 residents.
Correction, October 13, 2026. The September 30 note above has been corrected. It described SB 615 as a battery information rule for car shoppers; the label is for the dismantlers and recyclers who handle a battery at the end of its life. Starting July 1, 2028, a new vehicle traction battery sold in California must carry a permanent label with its supplier, date of manufacture, chemistry, capacity, hazardous substances, and recall and disposal information. The note also gave AB 1820 and SB 969 a loose 2027 and 2028 start; it now gives each bill's date. The paragraphs below have been corrected to match the chaptered bills.
California Signs a Six-Bill Package to Cut EV Charger Permitting Red Tape
Governor Gavin Newsom signed six bills on September 20 aimed at speeding up EV charger installation and expanding charging access at multifamily housing, according to the Governor's Office. Three of the six bills deal directly with charger deployment.
SB 969 (Reyes) modernizes charger inspection rules. Starting January 1, 2027, a commercial charger that meets type approval and has been factory tested and certified by a registered service agency can be placed into service without a separate field visit; the operator reports the installation to the county sealer instead. Sealers can still inspect a charger at any time in response to a consumer complaint, and the state has until July 1, 2028 to update its regulations to match.
SB 1283 (Ashby) extends streamlined permitting to the work around the charger. California already has streamlined permitting for the charger itself, but installations often need related work. SB 1283 brings that supporting infrastructure into the same process, including paving, a concrete pad, a utility trench, a canopy, or battery storage sized to support charging. Cities and counties have until December 31, 2027 to update their ordinances and checklists.
AB 1820 (Schiavo) caps permit fees for Level 2 charging at multifamily housing, starting July 1, 2027. State law already limits permit fees to the reasonable cost of the service. AB 1820 adds a dollar ceiling for Level 2 chargers at new or existing multifamily housing: $500, plus $5 per kilowatt between 51 kW and 250 kW and $2 per kilowatt above 250 kW, unless a city or county documents a higher cost in a written finding adopted by resolution or ordinance. It applies from July 1, 2027, or January 1, 2028 in cities and counties with fewer than 200,000 residents, and runs until January 1, 2036.
The package also includes SB 1213 (Reyes), which, starting January 1, 2027, requires makers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to provide pricing data for a model to qualify for state incentive programs, including the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project; SB 1267 (Allen), which updates the existing HOA charger law in Civil Code 4745 so that the owner of a charger in a common area pays for damage from its use and the installer covers damage from the installation, and states the Legislature's intent to shield an association that follows the law from liability for injuries and damage from a charger it does not own, except in cases of gross negligence; and SB 615 (Allen), which requires a permanent label on new vehicle traction batteries, including hybrid and plug-in hybrid packs, sold in California starting July 1, 2028.
What this means for property owners. If you are a multifamily developer or manager in California, AB 1820's fee cap does not apply yet. Until it does, the existing rule that a permit fee cannot exceed the reasonable cost of the service is still the one to cite if a jurisdiction quotes a fee that looks out of line with what neighboring cities charge for the same work. If you are a homeowner in an HOA, your right to install a charger comes from Civil Code 4745, which already existed before this package; SB 1267 changes who pays for damage from a charger in a common area and limits the association's liability for a charger it does not own, so read it before you sign an installation agreement with your board.
PSE&G's Off-Peak Charging Credit Ends October 1
New Jersey utility PSE&G's Off-Peak Charging Credit, which paid residential EV owners for shifting charging into overnight hours, stops accruing credits for charging activity on or after October 1, 2026, according to the utility's own program page. PSE&G stopped accepting new enrollments back on January 13, and customers already enrolled can still see a final credit appear on a bill after that date for eligible charging completed before the cutoff.
The replacement is a time-of-use rate, not a straight cancellation. PSE&G has rolled enrollees toward its RS-TOU 3P rate, which prices supply at roughly 6.7 cents per kWh during the midnight-to-6-a.m. off-peak window, a mechanism that shifts the saving from a per-kWh credit to a genuinely cheaper overnight rate. The utility's separate Make-Ready incentive, which helps cover the cost of the electrical infrastructure behind a charger, is not affected and continues.
What this means for PSE&G customers. If you are already enrolled in the Off-Peak Charging Credit, check your October bill against a TOU rate estimate rather than assuming the numbers land the same way. If you have been charging on standard residential rates and never enrolled, RS-TOU 3P is now the program to look at, since the credit itself is no longer an option going forward.
Colorado Awards $23.2 Million for 270 More Fast-Charging Ports
The Colorado Energy Office and Colorado Department of Transportation announced $23.2 million in grants on September 22 to build 270 new DC fast-charging ports at 35 locations statewide, funded through the federal NEVI program and the state's Community Access Enterprise. The awards include sites in southern Colorado, including two in Colorado Springs, and are expected to be built out over the next two years.
This is a meaningful jump, not a marginal add. The state's existing fast-charging network runs more than 1,680 ports; the new awards increase that by roughly 16% in one round, part of what the state describes as a near-complete statewide DCFC buildout under its Charge Ahead Colorado and DCFC Plazas programs.
What this means for property owners in Colorado. If your site was passed over in an earlier NEVI or DCFC Plazas round, this is the ninth round of awards under the program, and the state has signaled it is closing gaps in the existing map rather than winding the program down. A future round remains a real possibility if your location addresses a documented gap.
New York City Hires a Brooklyn Startup to Nearly Triple Curbside Charging
NYC's Department of Transportation and Department of Citywide Administrative Services announced on September 15 that Brooklyn-based It's Electric, working with engineering partner Maverick Corporation, will replace the city's 88 existing pilot curbside charging ports and install more than 600 new Level 2 chargers, building a citywide network of roughly 700 curbside chargers over the next three years. The chargers will be manufactured in Queens by Boyce Technologies.
The targeting is deliberate. The buildout is aimed at neighborhoods with high concentrations of taxi and rideshare drivers and limited off-street parking, including Washington Heights, Forest Hills, and the Upper West Side, the population least able to rely on a home charger or a driveway. Installation is expected to start in the first quarter of 2027, pending a Public Design Commission review, and the program is a partnership between NYC DOT and the New York Power Authority.
What this means for renters and drivers without off-street parking. Curbside charging has lagged home and workplace charging almost everywhere in the country because the economics and permitting are harder. NYC's approach, a dedicated citywide contract rather than scattered pilots, is a model worth watching if you live somewhere with a similar mismatch between EV interest and available driveways.
EV Sales Post Their Best Quarter Since the Federal Tax Credit Expired
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Q2 2026 Get Connected report, released September 24, shows automakers sold 247,226 EVs in the U.S. between April and June, a 14.2% jump from Q1 and the first sequential gain since Q3 2025. EVs made up 7.9% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the quarter, up 1.6 percentage points from Q1.
The year-over-year comparison is the more honest number. Sales were still down 20.5% from the same quarter a year earlier, when the federal EV tax credit was still in effect ahead of its September 30, 2025 expiration. Read together, the two figures describe a market that took a real hit when the credit ended and has spent the past several quarters finding a new, lower baseline rather than a market in freefall or a full recovery.
What this means for anyone weighing an EV purchase or a charging investment. The credit is not coming back, and this report is the clearest evidence yet that the market is adjusting to that reality rather than waiting it out. If you are a commercial site host sizing a charging investment around EV adoption curves, the sequential improvement matters more than the year-over-year dip: it is the trend line business cases should use.
By the Numbers
$23.2 million: Colorado's grant award announced September 22, 2026, for 270 new DC fast-charging ports at 35 locations statewide.
600+: New curbside Level 2 chargers NYC DOT is installing citywide over the next three years, announced September 15, 2026, replacing the city's 88-port pilot network.
7.9%: Share of new U.S. light-duty vehicle sales that were EVs in Q2 2026, up 1.6 percentage points from Q1, per the Alliance for Automotive Innovation's report released September 24, 2026.
20.5%: The year-over-year decline in U.S. EV sales in Q2 2026 compared with Q2 2025, when the federal EV tax credit was still active.
6: Bills Governor Newsom signed on September 20, 2026, to streamline EV charger permitting, inspection, and multifamily fee rules in California.
Sources: the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, Automotive World, Forth, NBC Bay Area, EVinfo.net (California six-bill EV charging legislation package, signed September 20, 2026), PSE&G's EV Residential Charging Program page and Malfettone Electric (Off-Peak Charging Credit sunset, October 1, 2026), the Colorado Energy Office, Colorado Department of Transportation, the Office of Governor Jared Polis, and the Denver Gazette (DCFC Plazas Round 9 awards, September 22, 2026), NYC DOT, Gothamist, Axios, InsideEVs, and Streetsblog NYC (curbside charging expansion, September 15, 2026), and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Repairer Driven News (Q2 2026 Get Connected report, released September 24, 2026). evcharginghelp.com is editorially independent and receives no compensation from any company mentioned.
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