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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6981 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6981
To require the Secretary of Energy to further develop and support the
adoption of a voluntary streamlined permitting and inspection process
for authorities having jurisdiction over the permitting of qualifying
distributed energy systems, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 8, 2026
Ms. Lee of Nevada (for herself, Mr. Ciscomani, Mr. Tonko, and Mr.
Lawler) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to further develop and support the
adoption of a voluntary streamlined permitting and inspection process
for authorities having jurisdiction over the permitting of qualifying
distributed energy systems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Streamlining Home Installation of
New Energies Act of 2026'' or the ``SHINE Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM TO FACILITATE VOLUNTARY STREAMLINED
PROCESS FOR LOCAL PERMITTING OF QUALIFYING DISTRIBUTED
ENERGY SYSTEMS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Authority having jurisdiction.--The term ``authority
having jurisdiction'' means any State, county, local, or Tribal
office or official with jurisdiction--
(A) to issue permits relating to qualifying
distributed energy systems;
(B) to conduct inspections to enforce the
requirements of a relevant code or standard relating to
qualifying distributed energy systems; or
(C) to approve the installation of, or the
equipment and materials used in the installation of,
qualifying distributed energy systems.
(2) Qualifying distributed energy system.--The term
``qualifying distributed energy system'' means any equipment or
materials installed in, on, or near a residential building to
support onsite or local energy use, including--
(A) to generate electricity from distributed
renewable energy sources, including from--
(i) solar photovoltaic systems or similar
solar energy technologies; and
(ii) wind power systems;
(B) to store and discharge electricity from
batteries with a capacity of at least 2 kilowatt hours;
(C) to charge a plug-in electric drive vehicle at a
power rate of at least 2 kilowatts; or
(D) to refuel a hydrogen fuel cell electric
vehicle.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(b) Program.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with trade associations and
other entities representing distributed energy system installers and
organizations representing State, local, and Tribal governments engaged
in permitting, shall carry out a program to further develop, expand,
and support the adoption of a voluntary streamlined permitting and
inspection process for authorities having jurisdiction to use for the
permitting of qualifying distributed energy systems.
(c) Activities of the Program.--In carrying out the program
established under subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
(1) further develop and expand an exemplary streamlined
permitting process that includes an online permitting
platform--
(A) for expediting, standardizing, and streamlining
permitting; and
(B) that authorities having jurisdiction may
voluntarily use to receive, review, and approve permit
applications relating to qualifying distributed energy
systems;
(2) establish targets for the adoption of a streamlined,
expedited permitting process by authorities having
jurisdiction;
(3) provide technical assistance and training directly or
indirectly to authorities having jurisdiction on using and
adopting the exemplary streamlined permitting process described
in paragraph (1), including the adoption of any necessary
building codes;
(4) develop a voluntary inspection protocol and related
tools to expedite, standardize, and streamline the inspection
of qualifying distributed energy systems, including--
(A) by investigating the potential for using remote
inspections;
(B) by investigating the potential for sample-based
inspection for distributed energy system installers
with a demonstrated track record of high-quality work;
and
(C) by investigating opportunities to integrate the
voluntary inspection protocol into the online
permitting platform described in paragraph (1) and the
platforms of government software providers; and
(5) take any other action to expedite, standardize,
streamline, or improve the process for permitting, inspecting,
or interconnecting qualifying distributed energy systems.
(d) Support Services.--The Secretary shall--
(1) support the provision of technical assistance to
authorities having jurisdiction, any administrator of the
online permitting platform described in subsection (c)(1),
government software providers, and any other entity determined
appropriate by the Secretary in carrying out the activities
described in subsection (c); and
(2) provide such financial assistance as the Secretary
determines appropriate from any funds appropriated to carry out
this section.
(e) Authority Having Jurisdiction Certification Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may certify authorities
having jurisdiction that implement the exemplary streamlined
permitting process described in subsection (c)(1).
(2) Process.--The Secretary may confer a certification
under paragraph (1) through existing programs within the
Department of Energy.
(3) Prizes.--The Secretary may award prizes to authorities
having jurisdiction, using funds appropriated to the Secretary
to carry out this section, to encourage authorities having
jurisdiction to adopt the exemplary streamlined permitting
process or the voluntary inspection protocol established under
paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (c), respectively.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $20,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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