re: 39% of all electric cars in the US are in CA

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This is a random but related question. I recently got a "soft start" installed on my 4 ton AC unit. The little I know about it is that instead of sucking a massive amount of energy down to my house just to jump start my blower and AC unit, it soft starts the AC unit and slowly ramps up power and then starts.
It was purchased and installed so my portable generator can power my AC unit in times of power outages and hurricanes, etc.

1) I believe this lowers the load on the power companies (in my instance, Entergy), so if the Gov't wants to do good and be green, why aren't these mandatory on AC units nationwide?

2) Is there a similar concept for EV car plugins? Seems like that would help reduce the load just like my AC unit.

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#1) No, it doesn't reduce overall energy consumption, it just smooths out the start a bit. The surge is just spread out over a few more seconds, little to no difference over the entire run cycle. It is often needed for a portable generator, as those can't handle the surge. The electric motor in the A/C takes a surge of current to get it started from zero, with all that torque needed to kick the compressor over.

#2) No. The chargers in EVs don't have a surge like a motor in an A/C unit does, they ramp up smoothly. There is no energy savings to be had in either case.