This bill establishes the State Smart Solar Permitting Platform, which will be managed by the Commissioner of Community Affairs in New Jersey. The platform aims to streamline the approval process for residential solar energy system installations by automating plan reviews, ensuring compliance with codes, and allowing for instant permit releases. Local enforcing agencies are required to use this platform or implement a comparable automated system within designated timeframes to reduce bureaucratic delays and costs that currently impede solar installations and affect housing affordability.

The bill also includes compliance reporting requirements for local agencies that opt for alternative platforms, mandating documentation to prove that these systems meet the same standards as the State Smart Solar Permitting Platform. If a local agency fails to comply, the Department of Community Affairs is authorized to impose penalties, with the funds directed to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Additionally, the DCA is tasked with providing training for local agency employees on the new platform and may implement solar permit surcharge fees to help cover the platform's development and management costs.