Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Executive Order Guaranteeing 21-Day Permitting for Ultra-Fast EV Chargers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-14-26 on Monday, enacting sweeping administrative reforms to eliminate local municipal permitting bottlenecks and accelerate the installation of 40,000 public DC ultra-fast electric vehicle charging ports along California highways and commercial retail corridors.

The executive directive, paired with $180 million in capital grants from the California Clean Transportation Program, mandates that local municipal and county building departments approve standardized commercial EV charger building permits within 21 business days, or the applications will be deemed administratively approved by default.

Eliminating Bureaucratic Delays on Clean Transportation California currently leads the nation with over 105,000 public and shared private EV charging stations. However, energy developers have faced municipal permitting timelines exceeding twelve months in certain jurisdictions, delaying the energization of ready-to-build multi-port charging plazas.

"California is the zero-emission vehicle capital of the nation, with clean vehicles now accounting for one in four new car sales statewide," Governor Newsom said at a public charging hub in Long Beach. "We cannot allow outdated local red tape to slow down the deployment of clean vehicle infrastructure. This executive order cuts through bureaucratic delay, ensuring that drivers and commercial fleet operators can plug in, fast-charge, and get back on the road in minutes."

Heavy-Duty Commercial Freight Corridors A primary focus of the $180 million grant allocation is commercial medium- and heavy-duty freight electrification along Interstate 5, Highway 99, and the Interstate 10 logistics corridor connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with Inland Empire warehousing hubs.

Grants will finance high-capacity 1-megawatt Megawatt Charging System (MCS) plazas capable of fully recharging class-8 commercial electric semi-trucks in under 30 minutes during mandatory driver rest breaks.

Automotive manufacturers, environmental advocacy coalitions, and logistics carriers praised the executive action, highlighting that reliable fast-charging infrastructure is essential to meeting California's mandate that 100 percent of new passenger car sales be zero-emission by 2035.