SB2785sam002 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

Filed: 4/29/2026

10400SB2785sam002 LRB104 16790 TRT 37258 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2785

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2785, AS AMENDED, by inserting immediately below Section 10 the following:

"Section 15. The Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act is amended by changing Sections 10, 20, and 45 as follows:

(765 ILCS 165/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Solar energy" means radiant energy received from the sun at wave lengths suitable for heat transfer, photosynthetic use, or photovoltaic use.

"Solar collector" means:

(1) an assembly, structure, or design, including passive elements, used for gathering, concentrating, or absorbing direct and indirect solar energy, specially designed for holding a substantial amount of useful thermal energy and to transfer that energy to a gas, solid, or liquid or to use that energy directly; or

(2) a mechanism that absorbs solar energy and converts it into electricity; or

(3) a mechanism or process used for gathering solar energy through wind or thermal gradients; or

(4) a component used to transfer thermal energy to a gas, solid, or liquid, or to convert it into electricity.

"Solar storage mechanism" means equipment or elements (such as piping and transfer mechanisms, containers, heat exchangers, batteries, or controls thereof, and gases, solids, liquids, or combinations thereof) that are utilized for storing solar energy, gathered by a solar collector, for subsequent use.

"Solar energy system" means:

(1) a complete assembly, structure, or design of solar collector, or a solar storage mechanism, which uses solar energy for generating electricity or for heating or cooling gases, solids, liquids, or other materials; and

(2) the design, materials, or elements of a system and its maintenance, operation, and labor components, and the necessary components, if any, of supplemental conventional energy systems designed or constructed to interface with a solar energy system.

"Townhouse" means a privately owned single-family dwelling unit that is attached to but separated from other privately owned single-family dwelling units by a common party wall that has no doors, windows, or other means of human passage or visibility.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21.)

(765 ILCS 165/20)

Sec. 20. Deed restrictions; covenants.

(a) No deed restrictions, covenants, or similar binding agreements running with the land shall prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting a solar energy system from being installed on a building erected on a lot or parcel covered by the deed restrictions, covenants, or binding agreements, if the building is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association. A property owner may not be denied permission to install a solar energy system, or be required to utilize specific technology, including, but not limited to, solar shingles rather than traditional solar panels, by any entity granted the power or right in any deed restriction, covenant, or similar binding agreement to approve, forbid, control, or direct alteration of property. However, for purposes of this Act, the entity may determine the specific configuration of the elements of a solar energy system on a given roof face, provided that it may not prohibit elements of the system from being installed on any roof face and that any such determination may not reduce the production of the solar energy system by more than 10%. For the purposes of this Section, "production" means the estimated annual electrical production of the solar energy system.

(a-5) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (a), as to townhomes as defined under Section 10 of this Act, homeowners' associations and common interest community associations may adopt, and include in an energy policy statement of the homeowners' association or common interest community association, policies that delineate reasonable requirements, procedures, or processes for the purpose of ensuring that common benefits or services, not including any benefit that is merely superficial or aesthetic in nature, are not compromised. Common benefits or services may include roof warranties, roof or building maintenance or cleaning services, the integrity of gas, electric, or plumbing lines or other infrastructure maintained by the homeowners' association or common interest community association, the security and safety of community residents, or other shared services or benefits that are not merely superficial or aesthetic in nature.

(b) Within 90 days after a homeowners' association, common interest community association, or condominium unit owners' association receives a request for a policy statement or an application from an association member, the association shall adopt a written energy policy statement. Any energy policy statement, regardless of when adopted, shall explicitly include as the minimum standards the terms of this Section but may also include standards regarding: (i) the location, design, and architectural requirements of solar energy systems; and (ii) whether a wind energy collection, rain water collection, or composting system is allowed, and, if so, the location, design, and architectural requirements of those systems. A written energy policy statement may not condition approval of an application on approval by adjacent property owners. An association may not inquire into a property owner's energy usage, impose conditions impairing the operation of a solar energy system, impose conditions negatively impacting any component industry standard warranty, or require post-installation reporting. Nor may a property owner be denied permission to install a solar energy system based on system ownership or financing method chosen by the property owner. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an association's written energy policy statement may impose reasonable conditions concerning the maintenance, repair, replacement, and ultimate removal of damaged or inoperable systems so long as such conditions are not more onerous than the association's analogous conditions for nonsolar projects. An association shall disclose, upon request, its written energy policy statement and shall include the statement in its homeowners' common interest community, or condominium unit owners' association declaration.

(c) Any provision of a homeowners' common interest community or condominium unit owners' declaration or energy policy statement that conflicts with this Act shall be void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21; 103-296, eff. 7-28-23.)

(765 ILCS 165/45)

Sec. 45. Inapplicability. This Act shall not apply to any building that:

(1) is greater than 60 feet in height; or

(2) has a shared roof and is subject to a homeowners' association, common interest community association, condominium unit owners' association.

As used in this Section, "shared roof" means any roof that (i) serves more than one unit, including, but not limited to, a contiguous roof serving adjacent units, or (ii) is part of the common elements or common area. "Shared roof" does not include a roof that serves a townhouse.

(Source: P.A. 102-161, eff. 7-26-21.)".