Florida solar bill with consumer protections draws praise after committee passage
Key legislation in Florida introduced by House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues that would implement tax relief for homeowners and companies that install solar while also protecting consumers, unanimously passed the House Commerce Committee on Wednesday.
“In the end I think we ended up with a bill that clearly lowers taxes for Florida for solar and at the same time offers consumer protections to prevent bad actors from coming into our state,” Rodrigues said in an interview with Daily Energy Insider on Thursday.
Florida voters approved a ballot initiative known as Amendment 4 last August that would give both residents and businesses that
install solar equipment property tax relief. The amendment would exempt solar and other renewable-energy systems from the
tangible personal property tax and ad valorem real estate taxes. Currently, a solar system increases the assessed value of property.
Rodrigues’ legislation, HB 1351, seeks to implement Amendment 4 while also including consumer protection provisions to foster
the development of solar in Florida.
The consumer safeguards included in the Florida bill were modeled in part on rules implemented for the solar industry in Arizona.
Rodrigues said the consumer protection and disclosure aspects of the bill would block “bad actors,” salespeople who use high-pressure tactics to persuade homeowners to purchase or lease their solar products and who promise electricity savings that don’t materialize. “Essentially it is like the Truth in Lending Act,” Rodrigues said of the legislation.
The bill includes language that requires sellers to disclose a variety of information about the solar systems that are being purchased or leased. For example, sellers must describe the assumptions used to calculate any savings estimates provided to the buyer and to clearly state that future utility rates are estimates only and may vary.
In Arizona, some vendors were not supplying consumers with warranties or with the make and model of the components that they were purchasing, making it difficult to repair or replace the solar system if it stopped working.
“We kept that language in our bill and the solar industry agreed that was appropriate to either offer a warranty or to let people know what the major component numbers are so they can keep their systems running,” he said.
The Florida bill also includes safety standards that utilities wanted, and it dropped criminal penalties that the solar industry objected to, Rodrigues said.
The solar industry praised the amendments to the bill.
“The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) applauds the initiative of House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues on House Bill 1351, which protects Floridians by providing them with the critical information they need to make smart decisions when considering solar,” said Tom Kimbis, executive vice president of SEIA. “By building off SEIA’s suite of consumer protection materials, policymakers, advocates and consumers will better understand solar transactions.”
Scott Thomasson, southeast director of Vote Solar, said, “House Bill 1351 will remove burdensome tax barriers on solar customers and add to the solar job growth in the Sunshine state.”
Rodrigues said the consumer protection provisions in the bill would not inhibit the growth of the solar industry in Florida.
He cited the experience of Arizona, which adopted consumer protection measures but has seen a thriving solar industry since the rules were adopted. Bob Stump, a former commissioner on the Arizona Corporation Commission, testified before the Florida House Ways and Means Committee in April on the issue.
“The charges were that these things would diminish solar in Arizona, but according to Mr. Stump, solar actually went up 8 percent after they instituted these provisions. Our provisions, according to the solar industry, are less onerous than the ones in Arizona, so I think clearly our state is positioned to enjoy a very robust growth in solar,” Rodrigues said.
The bill next moves to the full House for a vote. With the bipartisan support it has received at three House committee hearings, Rodrigues said he is optimistic the legislation will be approved.
A measure to implement Amendment 4, SB 90, is also being debated by the Senate.
