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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3121 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3469 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Mark J. Cusack |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to solar permitting. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mark J. Cusack5th Norfolk1/16/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3121 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3469 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Cusack of Braintree, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3469) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Mark J. Cusack relative to solar energy storage permit applications and inspections. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 3683 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act relative to solar permitting. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 40 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2 is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following sections:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 70. Approval for Solar and Energy Storage Permit Applications |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 (a) The Permit Granting Authority shall allow for electronic submission of the permit |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5application and associated documentation for the installation of a solar PV system, solar thermal |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6system, building-integrated PV system, energy storage device, or a solar system combined with |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7an energy storage device. All required permitting documentation and forms shall be published on |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8the Permit Granting Authority’s publicly accessible internet website. The Permit Granting |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9Authority shall authorize an electronic signature for the permit application and other 2 of 3 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10documentation in lieu of a wet signature by an applicant. Electronic submission, including online |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11payment of associated permitting fees, shall be offered through either an online portal available |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12on the website of the Permit Granting Authority or via electronic mail to a dedicated account that |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13shall be capable of receiving permit applications. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14 (b) Upon submission of required permit application documents, the application shall be |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15deemed complete if, after five business days have elapsed, the Permit Granting Authority has not |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16issued a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application and identifying |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17additional information explicitly necessary for the Permit Granting Authority to complete a |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18review. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19 (c) An application shall be deemed approved and the applicant may begin installation if |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20ten business days after the application was deemed complete has elapsed and the following are |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21true: |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22 (i) the Permit Granting Authority has not administratively approved the application. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23 (ii) the Permit Granting Authority has not denied the permit. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24 (d) A Permit Granting Authority may use an automated permitting platform that verifies |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25code compliance and issues permits in real time to satisfy the requirements of subdivisions (a), |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26(b), and (c). An applicant may begin installation after the issuance of a permit from such an |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27automated permitting platform. |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28 Section 71. Solar and Energy Storage Inspections |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29 (a) Applicant shall notify the Permit Granting Authority upon completion of system |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30installation. Permit Granting Authorities shall require no more than one inspection for a solar PV 3 of 3 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31system, building-integrated PV system, solar thermal system, energy storage device, or the solar |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32system combined with an energy storage device in order for the system or device to receive a |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33certificate of completion. The Permit Granting Authority shall issue a certificate of completion |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34no later than 10 business days following the receipt of notice from the applicant that the system, |
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| 65 | 65 | | 35device, or combined system and device, is installed. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 36 (b) An electric distribution company shall not require additional inspections by the |
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| 67 | 67 | | 37electric distribution company or any other entity as a precondition to granting the customer |
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| 68 | 68 | | 38permission to operate. |
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