AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9; Title 54; Title 55 and Title 67, relative to vehicles wholly or partly powered by electricity.
SB1481 creates a new tax and licensing framework for electric vehicle charging stations in Tennessee. It requires owners or lessees of public charging stations that sell or distribute electric vehicle power to obtain a special electricity sale and distribution license, pay a $30 application fee, and post the license at each station. The bill defines key terms such as electric vehicle, charging station, electric vehicle power, electric vehicle power dealer, residence, and extended stay rental, and it applies only to charging stations accessible to general public vehicular traffic, excluding charging locations at residences.
Beginning January 1, 2027, the bill imposes a 3-cent-per-kilowatt-hour excise tax on electric vehicle power sold or distributed for charging electric vehicles by an electric vehicle power dealer. The tax must be collected, reported monthly, and included in the sales price for sales and use tax purposes. The bill also requires charging stations to measure and display electricity delivered on a per-kilowatt-hour basis and authorizes the commissioner to investigate compliance and assess civil penalties for violations. The Department of Revenue is given rulemaking authority to implement the new part.
The bill’s impact is to add new provisions to Tennessee’s tax code governing electric vehicle charging services and to create a regulatory structure for public charging stations. It would affect charging-station operators, electric vehicle drivers using public chargers, and local governments, because license-fee proceeds are remitted to the county or municipality where the station is located and must be used for roads, bridges, or public transportation. It also ties the new EV power tax to existing vehicle registration fee apportionment rules and expands state oversight of EV charging transactions.
General sentiment cannot be directly measured from the provided materials because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes included. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears designed to establish a dedicated revenue stream and regulatory oversight for electric vehicle charging infrastructure rather than to prohibit or incentivize EV use. The structure suggests a policy focus on ensuring tax collection and infrastructure funding from the growing EV charging market.
The main points of contention likely would be the new per-kilowatt-hour tax on EV charging, the compliance burden on charging-station operators, and the enforcement penalties. Supporters would likely emphasize road and transit funding, tax parity, and metering transparency, while opponents could argue that the tax increases the cost of EV ownership and may discourage charging-station investment or EV adoption. No specific side is identified in the available record, but those are the issues the bill most directly raises.
SB1481 would amend Tennessee’s tax and revenue statutes to impose licensing, reporting, metering, and excise-tax requirements on public electric vehicle charging stations that sell electric vehicle power. It adds new definitions and enforcement provisions to Title 67, creates a 3-cent-per-kilowatt-hour tax beginning in 2027, and requires the Department of Revenue to administer the program, collect monthly reports, and enforce compliance through investigations and civil penalties. The bill also directs license-fee revenue to local governments for roads, bridges, and public transportation, affecting both state tax administration and local transportation funding.
No committee discussion or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative support or opposition from the available materials. From the bill text, the measure appears fiscally oriented and regulatory in nature, with an emphasis on revenue collection, measurement standards, and enforcement. The overall tone suggests a policy effort to integrate EV charging into the state’s tax system rather than a partisan or highly controversial initiative in the record provided.
The likely areas of contention are the new tax on electric vehicle charging, the requirement that charging-station operators obtain a special license and file monthly reports, and the substantial civil penalties for violations. Operators of public charging stations may view the bill as an added cost and administrative burden, while supporters may argue it creates fairness with other transportation-related taxes and provides dedicated funding for roads and transit. Another possible point of debate is whether taxing charging by the kilowatt-hour could slow EV adoption or discourage investment in charging infrastructure.