More than 70 percent of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment last year to extend property tax exemptions to homes and businesses installing solar energy systems. Now, as lawmakers turn that amendment into law, a short Senate bill is clashing with a larger and more complex House version that introduces dozens of regulations for the solar industry.
Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Gulf Coast Live features portions of interviews with Rep. Ray Rodrigues of Estero about the industry regulations he's added to the House bill. Sen. Jeff Brandes of Pinellas also talks about his version that he says simply enacts the Amendment 4 that voters saw at the ballot box.
Susan Glickman, the Florida director of The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, joins the program to talk about what this legislative could mean for the solar industry in Florida.
And Justin Hoysradt, Director of Public Policy at Vinyasun and a member of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association, answers questions about what the extra requirements mean for homeowners and businesses looking to install solar power projects of their own.
