STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6270--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to residential solar and energy storage permitting The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs i and j of subdivision 1 of section 381 of the 2 executive law, paragraph i as amended and paragraph j as added by 3 section 3 of part T of chapter 57 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a 4 new paragraph k is added to read as follows: 5 i. standards and procedures for measuring the rate of compliance with 6 the state energy conservation construction code, and provisions requir- 7 ing that such rate of compliance be measured on an annual basis; [and] 8 j. procedures requiring the documentation of compliance with regu- 9 lations adopted pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-seven of 10 the public health law as a condition to issuance of a certificate of 11 occupancy or certificate of compliance following a periodic fire safety 12 and property maintenance inspection for multiple dwellings[.]; and 13 k. (i) standards and procedures requiring: 14 (A) any authority having jurisdiction over a population exceeding five 15 thousand residents to adopt a residential automated solar permitting 16 platform by June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-six. The authority 17 having jurisdiction shall anticipate that the residential automated 18 solar permitting platform will have the capability to process at least 19 seventy-five percent of residential solar applications for existing 20 construction submitted to authorities having jurisdiction in the state. 21 (B) (1) authorities having jurisdiction to submit compliance reports 22 to the department within sixty days of achieving compliance with clause 23 (A) of this subparagraph, which shall include, but not be limited to: 24 (I) the date of compliance; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06584-03-5
A. 6270--A 2 1 (II) the software or a combination of software used for compliance; 2 (III) confirmation that the authority having jurisdiction is using a 3 residential automated solar permitting platform to instantly issue 4 permits and permit revisions for residential solar photovoltaic systems; 5 and 6 (IV) an explanation for why the authority having jurisdiction antic- 7 ipates the residential automated solar permitting platform has the capa- 8 bility to process at least seventy-five percent of the residential solar 9 photovoltaic permit applications on existing construction submitted to 10 authorities having jurisdiction in the state. This explanation may be 11 based on, but is not necessarily limited to, statements from the soft- 12 ware provider of the residential automated solar permitting platform. 13 (2) The department may establish guidelines for the reports pursuant 14 to item one of this clause. 15 (3) The department may determine the accuracy of the authority having 16 jurisdiction's report of compliance pursuant to clause one of this 17 subparagraph. The department may also make such findings publicly avail- 18 able and may take necessary actions to enforce compliance with clause 19 (A) of this subparagraph based on such findings. 20 (C) (1) authorities having jurisdiction to submit annual reports to 21 the department on the usage of the residential automated solar permit- 22 ting platform. Between April first, two thousand twenty-seven and April 23 first, two thousand thirty-six, each authority having jurisdiction shall 24 submit such reports annually by April first covering the previous calen- 25 dar year. The department may establish guidelines for these reports. 26 Such reports shall include the following: 27 (I) the number of permits issued through the residential automated 28 solar permitting platform and relevant characteristics of those systems; 29 (II) the number of residential photovoltaic solar permits issued by 30 means other than the residential automated solar permitting platform and 31 relevant characteristics of those systems; 32 (III) the software or combination of software used for compliance; 33 (IV) confirmation that the authority having jurisdiction is using a 34 residential automated solar permitting platform to issue permits 35 instantly and issue permit revisions instantly for residential solar 36 photovoltaic systems; and 37 (V) a plan to increase usage of the residential automated solar 38 permitting platform if fewer than seventy-five percent of residential 39 solar photovoltaic permits are issued through the automated permitting 40 platform on existing construction. 41 (2) The department may determine the accuracy of the authority having 42 jurisdiction's annual report pursuant to item one of this clause. The 43 department may also make such findings publicly available and may take 44 necessary actions, including but not limited to assessment of penalties, 45 to enforce compliance with clause (A) of this subparagraph based on such 46 findings. 47 (D) authorities having jurisdiction over a population exceeding five 48 thousand residents to provide an option for remote inspections via 49 recorded video or photo that can be submitted electronically for 50 projects permitted by the residential automated solar permitting plat- 51 form. Such inspections shall be offered at no greater cost and with no 52 greater delay than in-person inspections. 53 (ii) An authority having jurisdiction that does not require a permit 54 for residential photovoltaic solar systems is exempt from the require- 55 ments of this paragraph.
A. 6270--A 3 1 (iii) As used in this paragraph, the following terms shall have the 2 following meanings: 3 (A) "Department" means the New York state energy research and develop- 4 ment authority. 5 (B) "Residential automated solar permitting platform" means software 6 or a combination of software designed to automate plan review, generate 7 code-compliant approvals, accept online payments for permitting fees, if 8 applicable, and instantly issue permits and permit revisions for resi- 9 dential photovoltaic systems upon online submission of a code-compliant 10 application and payment of any required fees. Such platform shall be 11 available for residential photovoltaic systems up to the maximum capaci- 12 ty allowed with a two hundred amp main service disconnect, installed in 13 accordance with the residential code of New York state, as updated, that 14 may also include an energy storage system up to the maximum capacity 15 allowed under the residential code of New York state, a main panel 16 upgrade, and/or a main breaker derate. 17 (C) "Authority having jurisdiction" shall refer to any city, town, 18 village, county, or other governmental unit or agency responsible for 19 the administration and enforcement of the uniform fire prevention and 20 building code and the state energy conservation construction code, as 21 defined in 19 NYCRR, section 1203.1, as updated. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that 23 the amendments to paragraphs i and j of subdivision 1 of section 381 of 24 the executive law made by section one of this act shall take effect on 25 the same date and in the same manner as section 3 of part T of chapter 26 57 of the laws of 2023, takes effect.