Connecticut HB 5036: AN ACT STREAMLINING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PERMITTING AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.

Bill Text

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General Assembly  
Substitute Bill No. 5036  
February Session, 2026 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT STREAMLINING RESIDENTIAL SOLAR PERMITTING AND 
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE.  
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of Representatives  in  General 
Assembly convened: 
 
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 
 
 
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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 

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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  p