SACRAMENTO, California — The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously Thursday to adopt a first set of emissions disclosure rules for big companies, even as the laws remain in legal limbo.
What happened: The vote sets an Aug. 10, 2026, deadline for large companies to report their direct emissions, establishes a flat compliance fee and defines which businesses must comply. CARB members also directed staff to reconsider exempting insurance companies from the emissions reporting requirements after blowback from environmental groups and the law’s author, state Sen. Scott Wiener.
Why this matters: The move signals that Sacramento isn’t waiting for the courts to sort out the fate of California’s nation-leading pair of climate disclosure laws, SB 253 and SB 261, which face litigation from major business groups. A federal judge last year temporarily paused SB 261, which requires companies to disclose climate-related financial risk, and a ruling on the greenhouse gas reporting mandate in SB 253 could come as soon as this month.
More details: CARB staff proposed to exclude the insurance industry from reporting emissions to CARB under SB 253, citing their existing climate risk reporting requirements to the Insurance Department and an equivalent exemption already built into SB 261. But that proposal drew a swift rebuke Thursday.
