Thanks to lots of hard work by solar supporters across the state of Florida, legislation to implement Amendment 4 – which passed with 73% of the vote on the August ballot – is moving along in the State Capitol. Voters strongly supported removing barriers to solar by reducing taxes on solar systems.

Both Senate and House versions of bills have cleared all committee stops and will head soon to the floors of their respective chambers.

On the Senate side, SB 90 by Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) is the clean version of the implementation bill. It has the full support of solar advocates.

The sponsor of the House Bill (HB 1351), Ray Rodrigues (R-Ft. Myers), voiced concerns over consumer protections so he drafted his bill with some troubling provisions. At the Commerce committee, the last stop in the House before the floor, a strike-all amendment vastly improved the bill but some in the solar industry are still raising concerns about the remaining disclosure requirements calling them needless regulatory overreach designed to create barriers to solar.

The bill sponsors are still in negotiation and we will see some changes when the bills hit the floor. The House and Senate bills will have to be reconciled.

Thanks for all you are doing and we will keep you posted on progress in Tallahassee.