SB26
Land development; definitions, solar canopies in surface parking areas, delayed effective date.
Status:
Passed
Latest Action:
March 10, 2026
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
Chief Patron:
Jennifer Carroll Foy (D)
Session:
2026 Regular Session
Summary
As Passed House of Origin. Land development; solar canopies in parking areas.
Provides that any locality may include in its land development ordinances a provision that requires that an applicant must install a solar canopy over designated surface parking areas. Such provisions shall apply only to nonresidential parking areas with 100 or more new off-street contiguous parking spaces and may require coverage ... (More) of up to 50 percent of the surface parking area. The bill provides that an ordinance adopted pursuant to this bill shall be subject to various additional requirements and shall allow for deviations, in whole or in part, from the requirements of the ordinance when its strict application would prevent the development of uses and densities otherwise allowed by the locality's zoning or development ordinance or when a property owner shows that the solar canopy, if installed as otherwise required under the ordinance, will generate less than 75 percent of the electricity that would be expected, given the nameplate capacity of the solar modules installed on such canopy, if the canopy was to be installed at another location in the locality without surrounding impediments to insolation such as buildings or shading vegetation. Finally, the bill provides that the applicant or owner may use the electric energy generated from such solar canopy to offset the consumption of the parking lot or adjoining building served under the same account. This bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. (Less)-
Bill History
- 11/17/2025 - Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100558D
- 11/17/2025 - Senate: Referred to Committee on Local Government
- 02/09/2026 - Senate: Senate committee offered
- 02/09/2026 - Senate: Reported from Local Government with substitute (8-Y 7-N)
- 02/09/2026 - Senate: Committee substitute printed 26107468D-S1
- 02/10/2026 - Senate: Rules suspended
- 02/10/2026 - Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
- 02/10/2026 - Senate: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
- 02/11/2026 - Senate: Read second time
- 02/11/2026 - Senate: Committee substitute agreed to
- 02/11/2026 - Senate: Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)
- 02/11/2026 - Senate: Senator Carroll Foy Amendment agreed to
- 02/11/2026 - Senate: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute as amended (Voice Vote)
- 02/12/2026 - Senate: Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) Close Floor Vote
- 02/17/2026 - House: Placed on Calendar
- 02/17/2026 - House: Read first time
- 02/17/2026 - House: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns
- 02/18/2026 - House: Placed on Counties, Cities and Towns Agenda
- 02/20/2026 - House: Reported from Counties, Cities and Towns (18-Y 3-N)
- 02/24/2026 - House: Read second time
- 02/25/2026 - House: Floor Offered
- 02/25/2026 - House: Read third time
- 02/25/2026 - House: Delegate Sewell Floor amendments agreed to
- 02/25/2026 - House: Engrossed by House as amended
- 02/25/2026 - House: Passed House with amendments (75-Y 21-N 0-A)
- 02/27/2026 - Senate: House amendments agreed to by Senate (20-Y 19-N 0-A) Close Floor Vote
- 03/04/2026 - Senate: Enrolled
- 03/04/2026 - Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB26ER)
- 03/04/2026 - House: Signed by Speaker
- 03/04/2026 - Senate: Signed by President
- 03/10/2026 - Senate: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026
- 03/10/2026 - Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
