AN ACT CONCERNING MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS AND LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY PARTICIPATION IN CERTAIN DECISIONS OF THE CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL.

HB 5944 requires Connecticut’s Siting Council to consider a municipality’s conservation plan before approving commercial solar projects, limits solar development to 0.5% of any town’s land area, and lets local zoning authorities set minimum setbacks for these projects. The bill expands the Siting Council’s authority to cover all commercial solar installations regardless of size and mandates collaboration between the Council and local governments during project reviews. It directly affects municipalities, solar developers, and local zoning boards by integrating local land-use plans into state-level solar project approvals. The key policy change shifts decision-making to prioritize community planning while capping solar project scale.