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House · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 320: Waste management; require recycling of solar panels

Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled

A Georgia Senate substitute for House Bill 320 would require owners of solar power facilities to recycle old solar panels instead of throwing them in landfills, with limited exceptions and fines for violations.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Georgia law currently has no specific rule for how solar panels must be thrown away when they wear out or are taken out of service. This bill adds a new section to the state's solid waste management law (O.C.G.A. Title 12, Chapter 8) that bars owners or operators of solar power facilities from dumping solar panels in landfills or mixing them with regular trash. Instead, panels generally must go to a 'legitimate recycling facility,' one that recovers a significant share of usable material and does not harm public health, safety, or the environment in the process. The bill allows two exceptions: if no qualifying recycling facility exists within 250 miles of where the panels were removed, or if every nearby facility cannot accept the panels within 30 days of a request. Violators face a civil penalty of up to $20 per solar panel, with each improperly discarded panel counted as a separate offense. The Attorney General or a district attorney could sue in court to collect the penalty. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.

What the bill does

  • Requires owners or operators of solar power facilities to send retired solar panels to a legitimate recycling facility rather than landfills or regular trash.
  • Defines 'legitimate recycling facility,' 'solar panel,' and 'solar power facility' for purposes of the new recycling requirement.
  • Creates two exceptions: no qualifying recycler within 250 miles, or all nearby recyclers unable to accept the panels within 30 days.
  • Sets a civil penalty of up to $20 per solar panel improperly discarded, with each panel counted as a separate violation.
  • Authorizes the Attorney General or a district attorney to bring a civil lawsuit in court to collect the penalty.

Who it affects

Owners and operators of solar power facilities in Georgia, who must arrange for panel recycling; recycling and waste disposal facilities that may receive discarded panels; and the Attorney General's office and local district attorneys, who could enforce the new penalty in court.

Why it matters

As solar installations across Georgia age, more panels will eventually need disposal. This bill would push those panels toward recycling facilities instead of landfills, which could reduce landfill waste but also creates new compliance costs and legal exposure for solar facility operators who fail to follow the rule.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 adds new Code Section 12-8-28.1 to Georgia's solid waste management law, defining 'legitimate recycling facility,' 'solar panel,' and 'solar power facility' (the last referencing O.C.G.A. § 46-3-67).
  • Subsection (b) prohibits landfilling or otherwise disposing of solar panels except through delivery to a legitimate recycling facility.
  • Subsection (b) creates exceptions when no qualifying recycler is within 250 miles or none can accept the panels within 30 days of a request.
  • Subsection (c) sets a civil penalty of up to $20 per solar panel disposed of in violation, with each panel treated as a separate offense, enforceable by the Attorney General or a district attorney.
  • Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“No owner or operator of a solar power facility shall discard or dispose of or cause to be discarded or disposed of a solar panel by placing it in a landfill located in this state”

This is the bill's core ban on landfilling solar panels.

“the civil penalty provided for in this subsection shall be recoverable in a civil action brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or any district attorney”

This explains how the new penalty would be enforced in court.

Discussed in meetings (10)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. House Natural Resources & Environment Committee, February 12, 2026

    From 0:07:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 320 would require solar panels to go to a legitimate solar-panel recycling facility when their useful lives end. The sponsor described the measure as a next step in addressing concerns about restoring land after solar leases expire. The sponsor said the committee substitute’s only change from the version approved by the committee the previous year was removing language requiring the Environmental Protection Division to create and maintain a directory. One committee member expressed support, citing concerns about land and disposal of worn-out panels. A second member asked why the directory language was removed. The sponsor cited concerns about agency administration and a concern raised by House leadership. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote, with no numerical tally stated.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 18, 2026

    From 0:34:39 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said HB 320 addresses recycling solar panels at the end of their useful life. Compared with the version presented the previous year, the presenter said a recent committee change removed some registry requirements placed on the department. The presenter asked for support. No questions or vote followed.

  3. House Rules Committee, February 25, 2026

    From 1:43:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 320 on the current day's floor calendar after a motion and second. The chair asked for opposition and declared it added. No substantive discussion was shown.

  4. House floor session, February 25, 2026 (legislative day 24)

    From 4:25:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 1568

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 320 would require solar panels to go to a recycling facility when their useful life ended, rather than taking up landfill space. A member said recovered materials could support manufacturing and reduce supply-chain pressures, and the sponsor agreed. Asked why a proposed fine appeared to drop from $1,000 to $20, the sponsor explained that the earlier amount applied to an entire facility, while the revised amount was $20 per panel. The sponsor said recycling cost about $15 per panel and the fine was intended to make compliance cheaper than improper disposal. Members also discussed the bill's use of the term solar power facilities and the value of a varied power supply. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 162 to 4.

  5. Senate Natural Resources and the Environment Committee, March 17, 2026

    From 0:32:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute to HB 320 requiring solar panels to be recycled at the end of their useful life. The sponsor said the substitute would allow current disposal methods, including landfills, when no recycling facility exists within 250 miles of the panels' location. One member warned that requiring recycling could increase costs for existing facilities whose business plans assumed cheaper disposal. The sponsor confirmed there was no exemption for existing facilities and argued that recovered materials could offset costs. The member suggested requiring existing facilities to recycle 50 percent of their total weight while applying the panel requirement to new facilities, then said a floor amendment might be pursued. No such amendment was adopted in committee. Another member supported requiring recycling, saying the industry had previously emphasized the value of recoverable materials. Asked about community impacts, the sponsor said recycling could reduce landfill demand and provide jobs. The chair cited federal subsidies as a reason operators should be able to afford recycling. The committee approved the substitute unanimously.

  6. Senate Rules Committee, March 25, 2026

    From 0:48:27 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: A committee member selected HB 320 for the calendar. No provisions were discussed. The committee unanimously approved the calendar package containing the bill.

  7. Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)

    From 5:25:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Taken from Table)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The majority leader requested that the bill be removed from the table. The clerk read its title as requiring solar-panel recycling. The chair explained that removing and retabling the bills would preserve their availability for Thursday. The Senate removed this bill from the table without objection, then tabled it again without substantive debate.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)
  4. 2026-03-19Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  5. 2026-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
  6. 2026-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  7. 2026-02-25House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
  8. 2026-02-25House Third Readers (House)
Show full history (14 actions)
  1. 2026-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  2. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
  3. 2025-02-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  4. 2025-02-11House Second Readers (House)
  5. 2025-02-10House First Readers (House)
  6. 2025-02-06House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)Primary sponsor
  • Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
  • Don Parsons (R, HD-44)
  • Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
  • Chas Cannon (R, HD-172)
  • Gabe Okoye (D, HD-102)
  • Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-52)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 25, 2026

    162 yea, 4 nay (6 not voting, 5 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #558

  2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

    26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 excused)

    MOTION TO TABLE REMAINING LEGISLATION ON THE RULES CALENDAR: Senate Vote #835

Topics

  • solar panel recycling
  • waste management
  • renewable energy regulation
  • environmental law

Ask about this bill

Answers come from this document. Not legal advice.

Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb320.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp