On March 3, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko submitted written testimony to the Environment and Transportation Committee in support of HB 1532 - Continuing the Next Generation Energy Act with amendments. This bill, while largely outside of the purview of county governments, directs the Power Plant Research Program to produce a study on streamlining energy zoning and permitting. County/community input and coordination should be a component of the visioning process in the bill. Recent…

On March 3, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko submitted written testimony to the Environment and Transportation Committee in opposition to HB 1104 - Residential Solar Energy Systems - Local Inspections and Permitting.  This bill would require counties to implement a highly prescriptive “solar permitting software” by August 1, 2027, mandate remote inspections (by recorded video or photograph) for projects permitted through that software, prohibit any manual review at any point in the permitting or…

On February 19, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dominic Butchko testified before the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee in support of SB 265 - Community Solar Energy Generating Systems - Prohibited Locations - Adjacent Parcels with amendments.  This bill would remove the existing prohibition on co-locating community solar projects on adjacent parcels. Sponsor amendments, supported by MACo, would align community solar siting and revise standards with the safeguards enacted under the Renewable Energy Certainty Act…