Changelog — Plug-In Solar Legality Tracker

Dated history of changes to our 50-state plug-in solar legality tracker and its open dataset — state law signings and data updates, newest first.

Tracker last verified: August 1, 2026 (California, New Jersey and New York only; the other 47 states were last reviewed earlier — see each record’s last_reviewed). L = law / legislative event · D = dataset / site update.

2026

• August 1, 2026 — L California SB 868 recorded for the first time (Legislative Information) — the “Plug and Play Solar Act” passed the Senate 35-1 and sits in Assembly Appropriations, last action 29 June 2026 (July 1 hearing postponed). 1,200 W cap. Our dataset previously showed no legislation at all for California. D New Jersey: the statutory short title is the “Garden State Balcony Solar Act”, not “Plug-In Solar Act” as trade coverage and this site had it — corrected against the bill text. Still awaiting Gov. Sherrill; her bill-action releases of 30 June and 7 July do not include it. D New York: source link moved to the Assembly action history, because the nysenate.gov page for the base bill still reads “In Senate Committee” and appeared to contradict us; the active version S8512C was substituted by A9111C and passed both chambers on 28 May (we had 29 May). Statutory short title: “Solar Up Now NY Act”. Review scope: only these three states were re-checked against primary sources today. The other 47 keep their earlier review date rather than being marked as reviewed.
• July 8, 2026 — L New Hampshire SB 540 signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte on July 2, 2026 (Governor’s press release, part of a 74-bill signing) — NH is the 8th state to sign. One plug-in solar generation system per metered customer, max 1,200W AC inverter output, NRTL-certified; no utility approval, interconnection paperwork, or fees. Per the adopted text, main provisions take effect January 1, 2027 (the building-code section is contingent on certification of a national standard). Note: some secondary sources cited a ~July 27, 2026 effective date — the adopted text says January 1, 2027. Also: New Jersey’s Garden State Plug-In Solar Act (S2368/A4836) passed both chambers unanimously June 30, 2026 (Senate 40-0, Assembly 79-0) and awaits Gov. Sherrill — NJ status updated to passed/awaiting. Signed count now 8 (CO, ME, MD, UT, VA, CT, VT, NH); awaiting: NY, NJ.
• July 2, 2026 — L Correction: Vermont S.202 was signed by Gov. Phil Scott on June 16, 2026 (Governor’s office) — our June 22 entry listed it as passed/awaiting, which was already out of date. Vermont is the 7th state to sign; plug-in provisions (1,200W per meter) effective July 1, 2026. Signed-into-law count now 7 (CO, ME, MD, UT, VA, CT, VT). Re-verified same day: NH SB 540 still enrolled/awaiting (LegiScan), NY SUNNY Act still awaiting Gov. Hochul.
• June 22, 2026 — L Correction: New Hampshire SB 540 is enrolled/awaiting the Governor (LegiScan), not signed — status updated signed→awaiting; signed-into-law count corrected to 6 (CO, ME, MD, UT, VA, CT). Vermont S.202 added as passed/awaiting. (Corrected July 2, 2026: S.202 had in fact been signed on June 16 — see the July 2 entry.)
• June 21, 2026 — L New York SUNNY Act (A.9111C / S.8512C) re-verified — still passed both chambers and awaiting Gov. Hochul's signature; if signed, NY becomes the 7th U.S. state (6 have signed to date).
• June 15, 2026 — D Tracker review: signed-state list and labels checked; New Hampshire (SB 540) page published; Connecticut confirmed as a signed state. (Count later corrected June 22, 2026 — New Hampshire was enrolled/awaiting, not signed; the signed total is 6. See top.)
• June 14, 2026 — D Published the structured 50-state dataset (plug-in-solar-laws.json), per-state JSON files, the developer docs and a Dataset schema; added per-state review dates.
• June 4, 2026 — L Connecticut signed HB 5340 (omnibus solar bill) — 6th U.S. state; plug-in / balcony solar provisions effective Oct 1, 2026 (1,200W cap).
• May 29, 2026 — L New York SUNNY Act (A.9111C / S.8512C) passed both legislative chambers; awaiting Gov. Hochul's signature.
• May 28, 2026 — L New Hampshire SB 540 was originally logged here as enacted — corrected June 22, 2026: this was inaccurate. SB 540 was enrolled June 17, 2026 and is awaiting Gov. Ayotte; it has not been enacted. 1,200W cap; would take effect ~July 27, 2026 if signed. See the June 22 entry.
• May 12, 2026 — L Maryland signed HB 1532 (Utility RELIEF Act); emergency clause = effective immediately on signing; 1,200W cap.
• May 7, 2026 — L Colorado signed HB26-1007 — highest U.S. cap at 1,920W; effective Jan 1, 2027.
• April 22, 2026 — L Virginia signed HB 395 / SB 250; effective July 1, 2026; localities cannot ban balcony solar within the cap.
• April 6, 2026 — L Maine signed LD 1730; effective July 15, 2026 (up to 420W self-install, up to 1,200W with a licensed electrician).

2025

• March 2025 — L Utah signed HB 340 — the first U.S. state to fully legalize plug-in solar; effective May 7, 2025 (treated as appliances, no interconnection agreement within the cap).

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