H.R. 6981

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6981 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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.
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