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--- version:APP Joint Favorable+++ version:(document, no version)@@ -1,233 +1,49 @@-LCO 1 of 7+OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS+Legislative Office Building, Room 5200+Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200+http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa+sHB-5036+AN ACT STREAMLINING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PERMITTING+AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.-General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5036-February Session, 2026+Primary Analyst: WL 4/1/26+Contributing Analyst(s): SB, LG, JP+Reviewer: MM-AN ACT STREAMLINING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PERMITTING AND-ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.-Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General-Assembly convened:+OFA Fiscal Note-Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 1-(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Administrative 2-Services; 3-(2) "Municipality" means any town, city, borough, consolidated town 4-and city or consolidated town and borough; 5-(3) "Residential solar photovoltaic system" means equipment and 6-devices that (A) have the primary purpose of collecting solar energy and 7-generating electricity by photovoltaic effect, (B) have a nameplate 8-capacity rating of twelve kilowatts or less, and (C) are installed on the 9-roof of a single-family or multifamily home; and 10-(4) "Smart solar permitting platform" means an Internet -based 11-platform developed or implemented by the Commissioner of 12-Administrative Services to automate the review of an application for a 13-building permit to construct a residential solar photovoltaic system. 14-(b) Not later than July 1, 2028, the Commissioner of Administrative 15-Services shall develop or implement the smart solar permitting platform 16-for the purpose of (1) automatically reviewing applications to construct 17-Substitute Bill No. 5036+State Impact:+Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $+Department of Administrative+Services+GF - Cost 14,700,000 1,700,000+State Comptroller - Fringe+Benefits1+GF - Cost 209,100 209,100+Note: GF=General Fund-LCO 2 of 7+Municipal Impact: None+Explanation+The bill, which requires the Department of Administrative Services+to develop or implement a state-wide solar permitting platform, results+in a General Fund cost of $14,909, 100 in FY 27 and $1,909, 100 annually+thereafter. The costs include 1) a one -time cost of $13 million to build+the platform, 2) $500,000 in salary and $209,100 in fringe to hire five new+employees, and 3) $1.2 million annually for training, licenses, and other+operating expenses including cloud computing services.+The Out Years+The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would+continue into the future subject to inflation.-a residential solar photovoltaic system, and (2) instantly releasing a 18-building permit to construct such system if such system complies with 19-the Connecticut State Building Code. To satisfy the requirements of this 20-section, the commissioner may either develop the platform or 21-implement a platform developed by a third party, provided a platform 22-developed by a third party shall be provided to the commissioner at no 23-cost or low cost, as determined by the commissioner. 24-(c) The commissioner shall develop or implement and administer the 25-smart solar permitting platform to: 26-(1) Be available for use by the Department of Administrative Services, 27-any municipality, any architect licensed pursuant to chapter 390 of the 28-general statutes, any professional engineer licensed pursuant to chapter 29-391 of the general statutes and any contractor licensed pursuant to 30-chapter 393 of the general statutes; 31-(2) Perform an automated evaluation of any application to construct 32-a residential solar photovoltaic system to determine whether such 33-system complies with the requirements of the Connecticut State 34-Building Code and whether such application complies with the 35-regulations adopted by the commissioner pursuant to this section; 36-(3) Instantly release a building permit for any such application that is 37-determined to comply with the requirements of the Connecticut State 38-Building Code and the regulations adopted by the commissioner 39-pursuant to this section after such evaluation; 40-(4) Have the capacity to process a permit application for not less than 41-seventy-five per cent of residential rooftop solar photovoltaic systems 42-that (A) weigh less than four pounds or less per square foot, (B) provide 43-electrical power to detached single and multi -family homes, and (C) 44-comply with Connecticut State Building Code requirements for 45-installation on an existing residential structure; 46-(5) Provide users of the platform with the ability to submit an 47-application to construct a residential solar photovoltaic system twenty -48-Substitute Bill No. 5036+1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts+administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost+associated with most personnel changes is 41.82% of payroll in FY 27.+2026HB-05036-R000373-FN.docx Page 2 of 2-LCO 3 of 7--four hours a day, except when the platform is unavailable because of a 49-system upgrade or maintenance; 50-(6) Allow the use of digital signatures, stamps, seals or certifications 51-on all submitted applications and supporting documents necessary for 52-the issuance of a permit; 53-(7) Provide customer service to assist users in navigating the 54-platform; and 55-(8) Be updated as necessary to conform with changes to the 56-Connecticut State Building Code or any other applicable state law. 57-(d) (1) A municipality shall either allow for the submission of 58-applications to construct a residential solar photovoltaic system through 59-the smart solar permitting platform or through an alternative automated 60-solar permitting platform that satisfies the requirements set forth in this 61-section in an equivalent manner as the smart solar permitting platform. 62-Any municipality that implements an alternative automated solar 63-permitting platform shall enable access to the alternative platform not 64-later than January 1, 2029. A municipality that implements an 65-alternative automated solar permitting platform shall not require an 66-applicant to submit any documentation or information that is not 67-required through the smart solar permitting platform. 68-(2) A municipality that allows for the submission of residential solar 69-photovoltaic system applications through the smart solar permitting 70-platform shall, not later than January 1, 2029, revise its permitting fee 71-schedule to reflect any reduction in cost or resources expended by the 72-municipality to permit residential solar energy systems. 73-(e) (1) A municipality that allows for the submission of applications 74-to construct a residential solar photovoltaic system through an 75-alternative automated solar permitting platform shall submit a 76-compliance report to the commissioner, in a form and manner 77-prescribed by the commissioner, not later than sixty days after the 78-municipality implements such alternative platform. A local compliance 79-Substitute Bill No. 5036--LCO 4 of 7--report shall include, but need not be limited to: 80-(A) The date of compliance by the municipality; 81-(B) The software used for compliance by the municipality; and 82-(C) Documentation demonstrating that the alternative automated 83-solar permitting platform implemented by the municipality satisfies the 84-requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section in an equivalent 85-manner as the platform implemented by the commissioner. 86-(2) If the commissioner determines that documentation submitted in 87-a local compliance report pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection 88-is insufficient to verify that the alternative platform satisfies the 89-requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section in an equivalent 90-manner as the platform implemented by the commissioner, the 91-municipality shall provide the commissioner, at the commissioner's 92-request, access to the municipality's alternative platform so that the 93-commissioner may determine whether the alternative platform 94-complies with said requirements. 95-(3) The commissioner shall provide public access to any local 96-compliance report submitted by a municipality on the Internet web site 97-of the Department of Administrative Services. 98-(f) (1) A municipality that implements an alternative automated solar 99-permitting platform pursuant to this section shall, commencing on July 100-1, 2029, submit an annual report to the commissioner. The commissioner 101-may establish guidelines for annual reports required under this 102-subsection. Each such annual report shall include, but need not be 103-limited to: 104-(A) The number of permits released by the municipality for 105-residential solar photovoltaic systems through the alternative 106-automated solar permitting platform and the relevant characteristics of 107-such systems; 108-(B) The number of permits released by the municipality for 109-Substitute Bill No. 5036--LCO 5 of 7--residential solar photovoltaic systems through means other than the 110-alternative automated solar permitting platform and the relevant 111-characteristics of such systems; and 112-(C) Documentation demonstrating that the alternative automated 113-solar permitting platform satisfies the requirements set forth in 114-subsection (c) of this section in an equivalent manner as the platform 115-implemented by the commissioner. 116-(2) If the commissioner determines that documentation submitted 117-pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection is insufficient to verify that 118-the alternative automated solar permitting platform meets the 119-requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section in an equivalent 120-manner as the platform implemented by the commissioner, the 121-municipality shall provide the commissioner, at the commissioner's 122-request, access to the platform so that the commissioner may determine 123-whether the alternative platform complies with said requirements. 124-(3) The commissioner shall provide public access to annual reports 125-submitted by a municipality on the Internet web site of the Department 126-of Administrative Services. 127-(g) The commissioner shall prescribe the form and format of 128-applications for permits, including supporting documentation, 129-specifications, requirements for digital signatures, stamps, seals or 130-certifications and other information exchanged through the smart solar 131-permitting platform. The commissioner shall require that any 132-application and supporting documents submitted pursuant to this 133-section be prepared and submitted by any architect licensed pursuant 134-to chapter 390 of the general statutes, any professional engineer licensed 135-pursuant to chapter 391 of the general statutes or any contractor licensed 136-pursuant to chapter 393 of the general statutes. The commissioner shall 137-waive any requirement related to physical signatures, stamps, seals, 138-certifications or notarization imposed by statute, regulation or local 139-ordinance in order for the smart solar permitting platform to process 140-permit applications, provided the permit application contains a digital 141-Substitute Bill No. 5036--LCO 6 of 7--signature, stamp, seal or certification. 142-(h) A person exchanging information through either the smart solar 143-permitting platform or through an alternative automated solar 144-permitting platform shall not be subject to a licensing sanction, civil 145-penalty, fine, permit disapproval, revocation or other sanction for 146-failure to comply with any statute, regulation or local ordinance that 147-requires submission of such information in physical form, including, but 148-not limited to, any requirement that the information be (1) in a particular 149-form or of a particular size, (2) submitted with multiple copies, (3) 150-physically attached to another document, (4) an original document, or 151-(5) signed, stamped, sealed, certified or notarized. 152-(i) The commissioner, in consultation with the Public Utilities 153-Regulatory Authority and the Commissioner of Energy and 154-Environmental Protection, shall issue a request for proposal for the 155-development of the smart solar permitting platform consistent with the 156-requirements of subsection (c) of this section. In addition to any other 157-requirements that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the request 158-for proposal shall: 159-(1) Incorporate the standards developed pursuant to subsection (c) of 160-this section; and 161-(2) Require all bidders to demonstrate experience in the development 162-of one or more Internet-based automated permit-review platforms. 163-Sec. 2. Section 22a -1f of the general statutes is amended by adding 164-subsection (f) as follows (Effective July 1, 2026): 165-(NEW) (f) Environmental impact evaluations shall not be required for 166-the installation of an electric vehicle charging station, as defined in 167-section 16 -19f, and charging infrastructure associated with any such 168-station, or for the installation or construction of a solar photovoltaic 169-facility on developed land if the owner, lessor or operator of such 170-developed land receives state funding. 171-Substitute Bill No. 5036--LCO 7 of 7--Sec. 3. (NEW) ( Effective July 1, 2026 ) In connection with the 172-negotiation of a new or renewed lease agreement pursuant to chapter 59 173-of the general statutes, or at the time a capital infrastructure 174-improvement becomes feasible and important to agency operations, as 175-determined by the Commissioner of Administrative Services, the 176-commissioner may enter into a financing agreement with an owner or 177-lessor of real property, a public utility or a third -party financing 178-provider for the installation of infrastructure related to electric vehicle 179-charging, renewable energy generation or energy storage. In 180-determining whether to enter into any such financing agreement, the 181-commissioner shall consider the (1) expected life of such infrastructure 182-improvement, (2) length of the expected use of the site or the life of the 183-lease, (3) length of the state's needs for the infrastructure improvement, 184-(4) benefits provided to the property owner, and (5) operations and 185-maintenance requirements for equipment associated with the 186-infrastructure improvement. 187-Sec. 4. Section 16-245nn of the general statutes is repealed. ( Effective 188-January 1, 2029) 189-This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following-sections:--Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section-Sec. 2 July 1, 2026 22a-1f(f)-Sec. 3 July 1, 2026 New section-Sec. 4 January 1, 2029 Repealer section--ET Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO-APP Joint Favorable+The bill results in a potential savings to municipalities in the out years+to the extent less resources are required to approve certain building+applications and permits. The bill also results in a potential revenue loss+to municipalities associated with l ower permit fees as the bill requires+municipalities to revise permitting fee schedules to reflect any savings+to the municipalities. It is expected that the overall net impact to+municipalities will be zero.
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