This bill amends RCW 43.01.250 to expressly authorize the state, through the Department of Enterprise Services, to purchase electricity at state expense to recharge publicly owned plug-in electric vehicles at state office locations when those vehicles are used for state business or are commute vehicles. The amendment removes the prior phrase "privately and" from the statute text, reflecting a change in the authorized wording. The bill also gives the director of the Department of Enterprise Services discretionary reporting authority: when the director deems it necessary and determines the use has a significant cost to the state, the director may report to the governor and appropriate legislative committees on the estimated amount of state-purchased electricity consumed by plug-in electric vehicles and on the number of such vehicles using state office locations. That report may be combined with the report required under section 401, chapter 348, Laws of 2007. This is a modification of existing law creating an affirmative authorization for state purchase of electric power for publicly owned plug-in vehicles and a procedural reporting authorization for the Department of Enterprise Services. The provision is discretionary and conditional on the director's determination of significant cost. The extract contains only Section 1; no funding, enforcement, effective date, or the referenced 2007 report’s contents are provided, so those details are uncertain.

If enacted, state agencies would be explicitly allowed to pay for electricity used to recharge publicly owned plug-in electric vehicles at state office locations when those vehicles are used for state business or commuting. That will likely shift charging costs onto state utility or agency budgets, so electricity bills for vehicle charging could rise in proportion to how many state vehicles are charged at offices. The Department of Enterprise Services gains authority to manage the purchase of that power and may need to track and, if costs become significant, report estimated energy use and vehicle counts to the governor and legislative committees, creating a possible new administrative task. Important details are missing from the provided text—such as who will fund increased costs, exact definitions, enforcement, and an effective date—so the size of any budget impact and the timing of changes are uncertain.