On Tuesday, a California judge denied a motion for summary Judgment to strike down, on First Amendment grounds, California’s climate disclosure laws—at least for now.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other trade groups sued the state of California in Los Angeles federal court seeking to overturn the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 263), which will require certain large businesses to annually disclose detailed information on their carbon emissions beginning in 2026, and the Greenhouse Gases: Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261), which will require disclosure of climate-related risks on a biennial basis, with the first report due on or before January 1, 2026.
The judge suggested that he may ultimately decide to throw out the climate disclosure requirements on First Amendment grounds, but for now “further development of the facts are needed for [the court] to evaluate Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment.”
"On their face, SBs 253 and 261 appear to apply to all companies that meet the relevant revenue thresholds that do business in California. But the Court must also decide which of the laws’ applications violate the First Amendment, and measure the constitutional against the unconstitutional applications.”
