WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

SB 277

A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, further providing for tenure of justices, judges and justices of the peace.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Cris Dush and 1 co-sponsor

Allows commercial solar on PA 116 farmland if safeguards ensure restoration to agriculture, financial protection, habitat standards, and tax-credit restrictions during operation.

Referred to State Government
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 277

SB 277 — Summary (Farmland & Open Space: commercial solar on PA 116 land)

Status: Enacted (Public Act 230 of 2023). Statutory changes: amends MCL 324.36101 & 324.36104a and adds MCL 324.36104c & 324.36104e (Part 361, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act — Farmland and Open Space Preservation). Effective date noted in enrolled act: Feb. 13, 2024.

Purpose / Intent

To codify Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) policy (issued 2019) allowing commercial solar facilities to be a permitted use on land enrolled in the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program (commonly called "PA 116") under specified safeguards — balancing renewable energy development with the state’s farmland preservation goals.

Key provisions

  • Defines key terms (e.g., “solar facility,” “solar agreement,” “landowner,” “deferment period”) and makes a solar facility an allowable permitted use under a farmland development‑rights agreement if all statutory conditions are met.
  • Amended development rights agreement requirement: the agreement applicable to the solar facility site must be amended to extend the existing development‑rights agreement by an amount equal to the facility’s “deferment period” (the period from construction start to complete removal).
  • Deferment period limits: a deferment period may not exceed (90 years − remaining term of the development rights agreement). Landowners may later enter additional amended agreements for further deferment periods.
  • Habitat and vegetation requirements: the solar site must be designed, planted, and maintained to meet either:
    • Michigan Pollinator Habitat Planning Scorecard for Solar Sites — score of at least 76 (MSU), or
    • USDA‑NRCS Conservation Cover Standard (CPS 327) where pollinator plantings are not feasible.
  • Financial assurance: a bond or irrevocable letter of credit payable to the State must be maintained during the deferment period to assure decommissioning and return to agriculture; amount to be calculated by a licensed professional engineer and adjusted every three years (or as MDARD requires).
  • Agricultural restoration: the solar site must be established and maintained so the land can be returned to agricultural use, and it must be returned to normal agricultural operations by the first growing season following complete removal.
  • Tax credit restriction: a landowner may not claim the farmland development‑rights tax credit while the facility is active (during the deferment period). If a landowner relinquishes the agreement during the deferment period, the past seven years of tax credits (calculated from recording of the amended agreement) become payable.
  • Parceling and partial‑site rules: if only part of an enrolled parcel will host a solar facility, parcel division and an amended agreement must satisfy section 36110(4) requirements (minimum parcel sizes/criteria).
  • Assignable responsibilities: electric provider (owner/operator) can assume compliance responsibility under the solar agreement for habitat planting, financial assurance, and maintenance of privately owned agricultural drains associated with the site.
  • End of permitted use: once the deferment period ends and the land is restored, the statute provides that the solar facility is no longer a permitted use under the development‑rights agreement.

Who is affected

  • Landowners enrolled in the Farmland & Open Space Preservation Program (PA 116) who want to host commercial solar on enrolled land.
  • MDARD (administering agency) — new statutory readoption of its prior policy and oversight responsibilities.
  • Electric providers / project owners and operators (utilities, coops, alternative suppliers, and certain non‑utility generators >100 kW).
  • Local governments where parcel division or permitted uses are relevant.
  • Tax administration (landowner tax credit timing) and potentially lenders/insurers (financial assurance and decommissioning obligations).
  • Conservation / pollinator interests (through habitat standards).

Fiscal & procedural notes

  • Legislative analyses indicated no material fiscal impact to state or local government; administrative responsibilities fall to MDARD to process amended agreements, monitor compliance, and verify financial assurances and restoration.
  • The statute formalizes an MDARD policy that had been applied since 2019 and sets specific, enforceable statutory criteria for solar on enrolled farmland.

Practical effect

SB 277 creates a clear statutory pathway for hosting commercial solar on land enrolled in PA 116, provided the project meets habitat, financial assurance, restoration, and contract‑term safeguards and the landowner foregoes the program’s tax credit while the solar facility is operating. The law is intended to allow renewable energy siting while preserving the ability to return land to agricultural production at the end of a project’s life.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.