SB 1327: What California's Next EV Charger Law Means for Operators

Senate Bill 1327 would shift regulatory authority over EV charger accuracy standards from CDFA to the California Energy Commission. If signed into law, it will fundamentally reshape how commercial EV chargers are tested, enforced, and managed across the state.

This article covers what the bill actually says — not speculation, but the amended bill text as it currently stands.

What SB 1327 Does

SB 1327 amends several sections of the Business and Professions Code and adds a new section to the Public Resources Code. The core requirement is straightforward: the California Energy Commission must adopt regulations no later than July 1, 2027, to protect consumers from inaccurate electric vehicle supply equipment.

Those regulations must include tolerances and specifications for EVSE accuracy, testing and verification standards, and mechanisms to ensure compliance and enforcement.

In effect, this transitions EV charger accuracy oversight from a weights-and-measures enforcement model to an energy regulatory model.

Once the CEC adopts those regulations, the existing CDFA framework — including AB 2037's county sealer authority over public agency chargers under BPC §12209.7 — becomes inoperative and is eventually repealed.

What the CEC Regulations May Include

The bill specifies that, as written in the amended bill text, CEC regulations may include, without limitation, the following:

One critical word in that list: *may*. These are permissive provisions, not mandatory requirements. What the CEC ultimately writes into its regulations will determine the actual enforcement architecture. The bill establishes the framework — the rulemaking fills it in.

This distinction leaves significant discretion to the CEC in determining how strict or flexible the final enforcement framework will be.

What Happens to the Existing Retesting Exemption

Under current law, BPC §12509.5 provides that EVSE previously placed in service by an RSA or sealer is not required to be retested before maintenance — provided the maintenance does not affect the device's accuracy.

SB 1327 makes that exemption inoperative on January 1, 2028, or the date the CEC adopts its regulations under the new framework — whichever comes first. After that date, the exemption is repealed entirely.

For operators with grandfathered pre-2021 AC or pre-2023 DC equipment, this is the hard deadline. Those devices must be brought into compliance before the exemption expires.

The Self-Certification Question

One of the more consequential provisions in SB 1327 is the manufacturer testing pathway. The bill explicitly permits the CEC to establish a route by which manufacturers test their own equipment before it leaves the factory — without independent field verification at the point of installation.

This is not a minor administrative detail. CDFA has confirmed that factory accuracy testing does not and will not eliminate the requirement to place a device in service by an RSA or sealer.

NIST HB 44 Section 3.40 and California EPO No. 52 both require point-of-installation verification — because site-specific electrical conditions, network configuration, and user requirements can only be verified in the field.

Whether the CEC's regulations preserve that field verification requirement, or create pathways that substitute factory testing for it, will be determined during the rulemaking process. Operators, manufacturers, and consumer advocates who want independent field verification to remain the standard will need to engage in that process.

What This Means for the AB 2037 Framework

AB 2037, effective January 1, 2026, extended county sealer jurisdiction to public agency EV chargers. That authority exists under BPC §12209.7.

SB 1327 makes BPC §12209.7 inoperative on the date CEC regulations take effect — and repeals it as of January 1 of the following year. In practical terms: once CEC adopts its EVSE regulations, the county sealer framework for public agency chargers is replaced by the CEC framework.

This creates a temporary overlap where operators must comply with AB 2037 while preparing for a future regulatory transition.

Public agencies currently navigating AB 2037 compliance should understand that the underlying certification requirement does not disappear when SB 1327 takes effect — but the regulatory structure governing it will change. Getting certified under the current framework now establishes a documented compliance record before the transition occurs.

What the Timeline Looks Like

Because the CEC rulemaking process is still pending, key enforcement details remain undefined.

What Operators Should Do Now

The shift from CDFA to CEC authority does not create a compliance pause. BPC §12532 — the existing requirement for RSA certification of commercial EVSE before billing begins — remains in effect until CEC regulations supersede it.

Until new regulations are adopted, existing CDFA requirements remain fully enforceable.

Operating uncertified chargers is a current violation of existing California law, regardless of what SB 1327 does or doesn't do on its way through the legislature.

The operators best positioned for the CEC transition are the ones who build their compliance documentation now — under the current framework — so they enter the new regulatory environment with a clean record.

Ready to Ensure Compliance?

ChargeScale EV provides RSA certification and placed-in-service documentation for commercial and public agency EV chargers across Northern California. If you're evaluating how SB 1327 may affect your compliance obligations, ChargeScale EV can review your site and documentation. Contact us to schedule a site assessment.

*This article reflects the amended text of SB 1327 as of March 25, 2026. Legislative status may change. ChargeScale EV will update this article as the bill advances.*