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2018 SESSION

18102786D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 74
Offered January 10, 2018
Prefiled January 8, 2018
Requesting the Department of Labor and Industry to study the effect of the switch to electric vehicles on automotive mechanics. Report.
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Patron-- Reid
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, globally, 753,000 plug-in electric vehicles were sold in 2016, 60 percent of which were battery-electric vehicles; and

WHEREAS, the aforementioned sales were the highest ever registered for electric vehicles, and, as a result, over two million electric vehicles are now in circulation across the globe; and

WHEREAS, many industry-leading automotive manufacturers, including General Motors Company and Ford Motor Company, are devoting significant funds to the research and development of electric vehicles; and

WHEREAS, vehicles with electric power trains, powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, typically require less service than vehicles using internal combustion engines fueled by gasoline or diesel fuel; and

WHEREAS, regenerative breaking technology, which uses a generator to convert the vehicle's momentum into electrical power to charge the battery in electric vehicles, is likely to drastically reduce the need for replacement brake pads; and

WHEREAS, electric cars produce little to no emissions and therefore require minimal, if any, maintenance on emission control systems; and

WHEREAS, the global shift to electric vehicles over vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines will likely have a significant impact on automotive mechanics and businesses in the Commonwealth's automotive maintenance and repair industry as the demand for vehicle maintenance is reduced and the knowledge required to service vehicles advances; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Department of Labor and Industry be requested to study the effect of the switch to electric vehicles on automotive mechanics.

In conducting its study, the Department of Labor and Industry shall (i) identify the ways in which the market shift from vehicles using internal combustion engines to electric vehicles will affect automotive mechanics and businesses in the Commonwealth's automotive maintenance and repair industry; (ii) determine the amount, if any, by which the demand for automotive repair and maintenance will be reduced in the Commonwealth as a result of the switch to electric vehicles; (iii) identify and analyze the need and opportunities for automotive mechanics to develop their mechanical knowledge of electric vehicles and the experience necessary to service and repair such vehicles; (iv) assess the manners in which businesses in the Commonwealth's automotive maintenance and repair industry will need to adapt their business models to accommodate the consumer shift to electric vehicles; and (v) make recommendations for measures that may be taken to assist automotive mechanics and businesses in the Commonwealth's automotive maintenance and repair industry to adapt to and succeed in the marketplace of electric vehicles.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department of Labor and Industry for this study, upon request.

The Department of Labor and Industry shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2018, and shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an executive summary and a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports no later than the first day of the 2019 Regular Session of the General Assembly and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.