Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.
Solar Opportunity and Local Access Rights Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require each state regulatory authority with ratemaking authority, and each nonregulated electric utility, to conduct a hearing, and on the basis of such hearing, adopt a net metering standard.
Requires retail electric suppliers to make net metering available to retail customers on a first-come-first-served basis.
Prescribes implementation requirements regarding: (1) net energy measurement, (2) billing practices, (3) ownership of credits, (4) safety and performance standards, and (5) determination of compliance.
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to publish model interconnection standards for the physical connection between local distribution systems and qualified generation units and qualified electric generation units that do not exceed 5 megawatts of capacity. Requires states to adopt such model standards, subject to FERC approval.
Prohibits a state or nonregulated utility from adopting or enforcing any standard or requirement concerning net metering or interconnection that restricts access to the electric power transmission or local distribution system by qualified generators beyond those established under this Act.
Allows states to adopt or enforce additional incentives or requirements to encourage qualified generation and net metering, including any that afford: (1) greater access to the electric power transmission and local distribution systems by qualified generators, or (2) greater compensation or credit for electricity generated by qualified generators.
Authorizes a contract for renewable energy for public buildings and properties for a maximum period of 30 years.
Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to condition receipt of certain community development block grant (CDBG) funds upon grantee certification that the cost of any permit or license, for construction or installation of any solar energy system for any structure, complies with certain requirements.
Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue regulations to prohibit any restriction impairing the ability of the owner or lessee of a one-family residential structure to install or use a solar energy system upon such property.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 15, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 2, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) introduced it on April 15, 2011, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 15, 2011, 5627 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5610 days ago, on May 2, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers