HB 1260 — An Act providing for solar-ready projects involving a warehouse or distribution center; authorizing tax exemptions and special tax provisions; imposing duties on the Department of Environmental Protection; and imposing penalties.

PRINTER'S NO.   1414

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1260
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY SIEGEL, PIELLI, GIRAL, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, HILL-EVANS,
        SCHLOSSBERG, OTTEN, MADDEN, ISAACSON, INGLIS, WAXMAN,
        HANBIDGE, MULLINS, VITALI, NEILSON, SANCHEZ, FRANKEL, RIVERA,
        SALISBURY, KHAN, BOROWSKI AND McNEILL, APRIL 21, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, APRIL 21, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Providing for solar-ready projects involving a warehouse or
 2      distribution center; authorizing tax exemptions and special
 3      tax provisions; imposing duties on the Department of
 4      Environmental Protection; and imposing penalties.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7   Section 1.   Short title.
 8      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Solar-Ready
 9   Warehouse and Distribution Center Act.
10   Section 2.   Definitions.
11      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13   context clearly indicates otherwise:
14      "Applicant."     A person applying for a waiver from the solar-
15   ready requirements under section 3.
16      "Department."    The Department of Environmental Protection of
17   the Commonwealth.
18      "Eligible project costs."    Costs related to the purchase and
 1   installation of equipment directly related to a retrofit project
 2   for a solar-ready warehouse or distribution center.
 3      "Large-scale warehouse or distribution center."       A warehouse
 4   or distribution center with a floor area that is at least
 5   100,000 square feet.
 6      "Local taxing authority."     A county, city, borough,
 7   incorporated town, township, institution district or school
 8   district having authority to levy real property taxes.
 9      "Retrofit project."     A project involving a change in design,
10   construction or equipment already in operation in order to
11   incorporate later improvements.
12      "Solar-ready."     With respect to a building, designed and
13   constructed in a manner that facilitates and optimizes the
14   installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the
15   building or other areas of the building.
16      "Warehouse or distribution center."     As follows:
17            (1)   A building or group of buildings on the same lot
18      used for the indoor storage of goods, products and materials
19      or the receipt of bulk products and separation and
20      distribution of those products to another warehouse or to
21      individual end-user consumers.
22            (2)   The term includes value-added services between a
23      supplier and its customers, such as breaking down of large
24      orders from a single source into smaller orders, product
25      mixing, sorting, packaging, cross-docking, order fulfillment,
26      order returns or the consolidation of several orders into one
27      large order for distribution to several recipients.
28   Section 3.     Solar-ready requirements.
29      (a)   Applicability.--This section applies to each large-scale
30   warehouse or distribution center for which construction is

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 1   commenced on or after the effective date of this subsection.
 2      (b)   Large-scale warehouse or distribution center.--Each
 3   large-scale warehouse or distribution center shall be solar-
 4   ready.
 5      (c)   Design.--Solar-ready design shall include the following
 6   features:
 7            (1)   A minimum of 40% of the roof area designated as
 8      suitable for solar photovoltaic installation, free from
 9      obstructions such as HVAC systems, vents or other equipment.
10            (2)   Structural integrity sufficient to support the
11      installation of solar photovoltaic systems, accounting for
12      the weight of panels, mounting systems and potential wind or
13      snow loads.
14            (3)   Conduit pathways from the roof to the electrical
15      room of the building to accommodate wiring for solar energy
16      systems.
17            (4)   An appropriately sized space in the electrical room
18      of the building for solar energy inverters and related
19      equipment.
20   Section 4.     Waivers.
21      (a)   Grant of waiver request.--The department may grant to an
22   applicant a waiver from the solar-ready requirements under
23   section 3 only under the following conditions:
24            (1)   The applicant demonstrates that the physical
25      characteristics of the site make compliance technically
26      infeasible, including:
27                  (i)    Shading from an adjacent building, terrain or
28            vegetation that permanently obstructs sufficient solar
29            access.
30                  (ii)    Structural constraints specific to the building

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 1            site, such as poor soil conditions requiring extensive
 2            and cost-prohibitive engineering modifications.
 3            (2)   The applicant demonstrates that the additional costs
 4      incurred to meet the requirements arise solely from the
 5      extraordinary site conditions or external factors beyond the
 6      typical scope of construction for a warehouse or distribution
 7      center and exceed a defined financial threshold, such as 10%
 8      of the total construction budget.
 9      (b)   Denial or waiver request.--The following considerations
10   shall not be grounds for a waiver under this section:
11            (1)   General compliance costs associated with meeting the
12      solar-ready requirements under section 3.
13            (2)   The applicant's perceived market feasibility, tenant
14      demand or return on investment.
15            (3)   Financial hardship related to the overall
16      construction project unless directly attributable to the
17      characteristics, conditions or external factors described in
18      subsection (a).
19      (c)   Requirements for applicant seeking waiver.--An applicant
20   seeking a waiver under this section must:
21            (1)   Submit a detailed report prepared by a licensed
22      engineer or architect documenting the specific site
23      constraints or cost factors that make compliance infeasible
24      or disproportionately expensive.
25            (2)   Provide itemized cost estimates from at least two
26      independent contractors or experts to substantiate claims of
27      undue financial burden.
28            (3)   Include a signed affidavit attesting that the
29      claimed hardship arises solely from site-specific or
30      technical limitations, not general construction or market

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 1      considerations.
 2      (d)   Duties of department.--The department shall:
 3            (1)   Prescribe the form and manner for submitting a
 4      waiver request under this section.
 5            (2)   Establish specific guidelines for evaluating waiver
 6      requests, including definitions of "extraordinary site
 7      conditions" and standardized thresholds for cost assessments.
 8            (3)   Provide a written decision on all waiver requests,
 9      including an explanation of the reasons for granting or
10      denying a waiver.
11   Section 5.     Guidance.
12      The department shall issue guidance documents to assist
13   developers and construction professionals in complying with this
14   act.
15   Section 6.     Prevailing wage.
16      An employer or contractor contracted to complete a solar-
17   ready project in accordance with this act shall pay the
18   prevailing minimum wage and benefit rates for all crafts or
19   classifications performing construction, reconstruction,
20   demolition, alteration and repair work, other than maintenance
21   work, on the project as determined by the Department of Labor
22   and Industry under the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442),
23   known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, and as bid under
24   the act of May 1, 1913 (P.L.155, No.104), referred to as the
25   Separations Act.
26   Section 7.     Enforcement and penalties.
27      (a)   Enforcement.--The department shall have the authority to
28   inspect construction plans and completed buildings to ensure
29   compliance with this act.
30      (b)   Penalty.--A person that violates this act shall be

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 1   subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each
 2   violation.
 3   Section 8.     Tax exemptions and special tax provisions.
 4      (a)   Authorization.--Each local taxing authority may provide
 5   a tax exemption or special tax provision related to an increase
 6   in the value of real estate resulting from retrofit projects of
 7   a warehouse or distribution center within the boundaries of the
 8   local taxing authority.
 9      (b)   Approval required.--A tax exemption or special tax
10   provision authorized under this section is not enforceable until
11   the governing body of a local taxing authority with jurisdiction
12   to levy real estate taxes on a property has approved an
13   ordinance or resolution adopting the tax exemption or special
14   tax provision. Other similarly situated local taxing authorities
15   may subsequently approve a tax exemption or special tax
16   provision.
17      (c)   Notice.--
18            (1)   Upon adoption of an ordinance or resolution
19      authorizing a tax exemption or special tax provision under
20      this section by a local taxing authority, the local taxing
21      authority shall post a notice of the adoption in a newspaper
22      of general circulation in the area. The local taxing
23      authority may also post the notice on its publicly accessible
24      Internet website, if available.
25            (2)   Upon adoption of an ordinance or resolution
26      authorizing a tax exemption or special tax provision under
27      this section by multiple local taxing authorities having
28      mutual jurisdiction to levy real estate taxes on a property,
29      a joint notice of adoption of the tax exemption or special
30      tax provision shall be published in a newspaper of general

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 1      circulation in the area. Each local taxing authority that
 2      comprises the group of multiple local taxing authorities
 3      shall also post a notice of the adoption on its publicly
 4      accessible Internet website, if available.
 5      (d)   Amount.--A local taxing authority granting a tax
 6   exemption or special tax provision under this section may
 7   provide for the tax exemption or special tax provision on the
 8   assessment attributable to the actual cost of eligible project
 9   costs associated with retrofit projects to construct a solar-
10   ready zone or up to a maximum cost uniformly established by the
11   local taxing authority. The maximum cost shall uniformly apply
12   within the local taxing authority's jurisdiction.
13      (e)   Schedule.--Whether or not the assessment eligible for a
14   tax exemption or special tax provision is based upon actual cost
15   or a maximum cost, the amount of taxes exempted shall be in
16   accordance with the schedule of taxes exempted established by
17   the local taxing authority subject to the following limitations:
18            (1)   The length of the schedule of taxes exempted shall
19      not exceed 10 years.
20            (2)   The schedule of taxes exempted shall stipulate the
21      portion of eligible project costs to be exempted each year.
22            (3)   The exemption from taxes shall be limited to the
23      additional assessment valuation attributable to the actual
24      costs of new construction or improvements to a warehouse or
25      distribution center or not more than the maximum cost
26      established by the local taxing authority.
27      (f)   Sale or exchange.--A tax exemption or special tax
28   provision under this section shall be upon the subject property
29   and shall not terminate upon the sale or exchange of the
30   property.

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 1      (g)   Procedure for obtaining tax exemption or special tax
 2   provision.--A person desiring a tax exemption or special tax
 3   provision for the eligible costs associated with retrofit
 4   projects to construct a solar-ready zone as authorized by an
 5   ordinance or resolution adopted under this act must notify the
 6   appropriate local taxing authority in writing on an application
 7   form provided by the local taxing authority. The application
 8   form must be submitted at the time that the person secures the
 9   building permit for the property or, if no building permit or
10   other notification is required for the redevelopment of the
11   property, at the time that the person commences construction.
12      (h)   Amendment of ordinance or resolution.--The amounts and
13   schedules under subsections (d) and (e) in effect at the time of
14   an initial request for a tax exemption or special tax provision
15   shall govern the initial request, and any subsequent amendment
16   of the applicable ordinance or resolution affecting the amounts
17   or schedules shall not apply to the initial request.
18   Section 9.    Rules and regulations.
19      The department shall adopt or promulgate rules and
20   regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act,
21   including technical specifications for solar-ready design and
22   construction.
23   Section 10.   Effective date.
24      This act shall take effect immediately.




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