ARIZONA STATE SENATE
RESEARCH STAFF
TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
REGULATORY AFFAIRS & GOVERNMENT
EFFICIENCY COMMITTEE
DATE: March 24, 2025
SUBJECT: Strike everything amendment to H.B. 2033, relating to solar; building permits;
approval process
Purpose
Requires municipalities and counties, by January 1, 2026, to adopt an online instant
permitting process for home power installations.
Background
Municipalities and counties must adopt standards for issuing permits for the use of certain
solar energy devices. For construction with solar photovoltaic systems that are intended to connect
to a utility system, the following apply: 1) the location of the photovoltaic system installation must
be indicated on the construction plans, including the roof plan and elevation; 2) photovoltaic panel
mounting details must be included in the installation plans; 3) the electrical diagrams must include
one-line or three-line diagrams but a one-line or three-line electrical diagram is not required if a
qualified online automated permitting platform is used to verify code compliance; 4) for direct
current to alternating current conversions, the cut sheet and listings for inverters must be included
in the plans; 5) a municipality or count must not require a stamp from a professional engineer for
a solar photovoltaic system unless an engineering stamp is deemed necessary; and 6) a
municipality or county may use a qualified online automated permitting platform to verify code
compliance in order to satisfy the prescribed permit requirements.
For solar water heating systems, the following apply: 1) the location of the solar panel
system must be indicated on the construction plans, including the roof plan and elevation and
mounting details for panel installation; 2) construction plan notes must include a requirement that
solar water heating equipment be installed in compliance with applicable plumbing codes and as
prescribed by a solar rating and certification corporation and any guidelines adopted by Arizona;
and 3) a municipality or county must not require a stamp from a professional engineer for a
single-family solar water heating system unless an engineering stamp is deemed necessary.
Statute defines qualified online automated permitting platform as a web-based portal that
automates plan review, produces code-compliant approvals and issues permits for residential solar
energy systems and residential energy storage systems paired with residential solar energy systems
in real time (A.R.S. ยงยง 9-468 and 11-323).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
JASON THEODOROU
LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST
REGULATORY AFFAIRS & GOVERNMENT
EFFICIENCY COMMITTEE
Telephone: (602) 926-3171 STRIKER MEMO
H.B. 2033
Page 2
Provisions
1. Requires a municipality or county, by January 1, 2026, to adopt an instant permitting process
for home power installations.
2. Requires the instant permitting process to be capable of processing home power applications
for at least the majority of the types of home power installations installed in Arizona, including
applications for energy storage installations and associated infrastructure and equipment, main
panel upgrades and main breaker derates.
3. Requires a municipality or county to allow all home power installations for single-family or
two-family dwellings on allowed structures that can be processed by its online instant
permitting process to be processed by its instant permitting process.
4. Requires a municipality or county, by July 1, 2026, to provide an option for home power
building inspections for a single-family or two-family dwelling to be performed through a
single remote field report.
5. Requires a single remote field report to be:
a) offered at the same cost as or a lower cost than a municipal or county in-person building
inspection; and
b) available within the same time frame as or a shorter time frame than the time frame for an
in-person building inspection.
6. Allows a municipality or county, if the governing body or board of supervisors adopts a
resolution by July 1, 2026, that finds that an exemption is necessary to protect the public's
health and safety, to exempt certain categories of home power building inspections from being
performed through a single remote field report.
7. Requires the governing body or board of supervisors to readopt the resolution every two years
for the exemption of certain categories for home power building inspections to continue.
8. Requires a municipality or county to post a compliance report on the municipal or county
website and send the report to the Secretary of State within 30 days after achieving compliance
with the instant permitting process requirement.
9. Requires the compliance report to include:
a) the date of compliance;
b) a description of the software or combination of software used for compliance;
c) confirmation that the municipality or county is both:
i. using an instant permitting process for home power installations and not requiring
manual review at any time before the issuance of a home power building permit for
home power installations that go through the instant permitting process; and
ii. allowing all home power building inspections to be performed through a single remote
field report or has adopted an ordinance that exempts certain categories of home power
building inspections; STRIKER MEMO
H.B. 2033
Page 3
d) an explanation of why the municipality or county anticipates the instant permitting process
has the capability to process home power applications submitted for at least the majority
of the types of home power installations installed in Arizona and is capable of processing
energy storage installations and associated infrastructure and equipment, main panel
upgrades and main breaker derates.
10. Requires the explanation in the compliance report to be based on estimates made by the
software provider of the instant permitting process.
11. Allows a municipality or county, if the governing body or board or supervisors by July 1, 2026,
adopts a resolution that allows for a delay in adopting an online instant permitting process for
residential energy storage systems, to delay adopting an instant permitting process for
residential energy storage systems until December 31, 2026.
12. Allows a municipality or county, if the governing body or board of supervisors by July 1, 2026,
adopts a resolution that shows it is in the process of establishing an online instant permitting
process for home power installations and that allows for a delay in adopting an online instant
permitting process for home power installations, to delay adopting an online instant permitting
process for home power installations for an additional six months until no later than June 30,
2027.
13. Specifies that the instant permitting requirement for municipalities applies to municipalities
with a population of 5,000 persons or more.
14. Defines home power application as the application for a home power building permit that
contains the information necessary to determine whether a home power installation is
compliant with the relevant codes, standards and rules.
15. Defines home power building inspection as the inspection of a home power installation by a
municipality or county of a home power installation as part of the home power installation.
16. Defines home power building permit as a permit required by a municipality or county to
construct, improve, complete or operate a home power installation, including a fire permit.
17. Defines home power installation as a solar photovoltaic installation, an energy storage
installation or a combination of a solar photovoltaic installation and energy storage installation
that provides electrical power to a single-family or two-family dwelling, along with any
associated infrastructure and equipment, main panel upgrades and main breaker derates.
18. Defines instant permitting as a permitting process that uses an existing commercially available
qualified online automated permitting platform that issues home power building permits and
home power building permit revisions instantly on submission of a code complaint application
for a home power building permit and the payment of any required fees, including, if
applicable, online payments of home power building permitting fees.
19. Excludes, from the definition of instant permitting, manual review at any time during or after
the application, review or issuance of a home power building permit. STRIKER MEMO
H.B. 2033
Page 4
20. Defines remote filed report as a home power building inspection performed by the municipality
or county based on either of the following methods:
a) photos and videos taken on-site and sent to the municipality or county to review remotely
and asynchronously; or
b) a video conference with the home power building installer or the homeowner.
21. Adds, to the definition of qualified online automated permitting platform, a web-based portal
that automates plan review, produces code-compliant approvals and issues permits for
residential energy storage systems and any associated infrastructure and equipment, main panel
upgrades and main breaker derates.
22. Makes technical and conforming changes.
23. Becomes effective on the general effective date.