California Passes New Solar Panel Regulations
Throughout recent years, many initiatives have been created to make the world more environmentally friendly. Many of these changes have taken place with the help of laws and regulations. Statistics show that 33% of bills are enacted by Congress for December during the first year of a session. One of these changes has been the invention and implementation of solar panels. Solar panels obtain energy from the sun, helping to reduce the need for fossil fuels. With that in mind, California legislature recently passed a bill involving solar panels and new homes that you’ll want to know more about.
A Landmark California Law Passes
While solar panels have become increasingly popular, no location has passed state rules requiring that new homes contain these items. However, this changes as California is now the first state to create such strict solar panel regulations. It is undetermined if this change forces other state laws to become more strict in regards to the inclusion of solar panels on new homes.
The state legislative history of California has been criticized in the past. However, changes made in 2015 allowed for a hearing on any proposals that obtain 25% of signatures needed to reach a ballot. That being said, both companies and consumers wanted to know the details of how they would be affected by these new regulations.
The Details Behind These New Regulations
There are a few key pieces of information to take away from this recent announcement. First, these new solar panel restrictions will be primarily enforced for homes built after the year 2020. Currently, statistics show that only about 9% of homes throughout the state of California have solar panels. In addition, the regulations for solar panels will mainly be focused on newly built apartment units, single family homes, and condos.
Potential Impact to California’s Housing Market
Many consumers are understandably worried about the passing of this new bill. The main concern is how the cost of solar panels will add to California’s already expensive average home values. For a state with one of the highest costs of living, it’s important that a solution can be reached that doesn’t drastically increase the prices of these new homes. That being said, California officials have argued that the energy savings provided by solar panels will offset the slight housing price increase.
In conclusion, California has passed regulations that most homes built after 2020 must contain sonar panels. As of right now, it’s uncertain whether other locations will create their own state laws made to enforce the inclusion of solar panels on newly built homes. With that in mind, it’s always important to remain aware of how quickly regulations can be passed. This doesn’t take into consideration the large number of bills waiting to be passed. In fact, there are currently 300 bills right now that are waiting for some form of action from the Senate. Considering that, it’s important that your law firm has a service that is able to provide accurate and timely information concerning federal and state laws.