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Industry groups back standardized disclosures, five-day rescission in solar consumer-protection bill
Summary
Companies including Sunrun and Positgen told the Joint Committee they support House Bill 450, which would require standardized consumer disclosures and increase the rescission period for residential solar and storage contracts from three to five days and create a salesperson registry and door-to-door sales controls.
Supporters of stronger consumer protections for rooftop solar and home battery customers urged the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure to favorably report House Bill 450.
Bronte Payne, a senior policy manager at Sunrun, and Kyle Wallace, vice president of public policy at Positgen, said H.450 would require standardized disclosure forms, a state consumer education brochure, an expanded right-of-rescission and a registry for solar salespeople, and would add rules for door-to-door sales interactions.
"H450 proposes to require standardized disclosure forms and create an educational brochure for customers that have to be shared with all customers prior to them being able to sign a contract," Payne said. She said Sunrun, which she described as the nation’s largest solar and storage provider, supports the measure and cited recent consumer-protection laws in Texas and Colorado as models.
Wallace, whose company focuses on lower- and moderate-income households, called the consumer education brochure an "emerging best practice" that helps customers compare offers and spot misleading sales claims. He said the bill’s standardized disclosure and five-day rescission period would reduce high-pressure sales risks and give customers time to seek multiple quotes and permits.
"If you have a brochure and it's saying, be wary of these type of claims...and someone tries to say that, it's a lot easier for them to go, ‘wait, but this paper you just gave me says I should be careful about this,'" Wallace told the committee.
Both witnesses said the bill would protect consumers while enabling continued deployment of rooftop solar and storage to support grid reliability and affordability for all ratepayers. They urged the committee to strengthen and favorably report H.450.
No committee vote occurred at the hearing.
