Greenhouse gases: climate corporate accountability: climate-related financial risk: regulations: California Environmental Quality Act exemption.

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included a claim about providing funding, which was supported but overly vague. The official summary does not provide specific details on how the $1,000 will be used beyond stating it is for implementing regulations.

Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Financial Risk Regulations

The bill exempts certain regulations related to greenhouse gas reporting and climate-related financial risk from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.

What This Bill Does

• Exempts regulations requiring large businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenue to report their greenhouse gas emissions from CEQA requirements.
• Exempts regulations requiring medium-sized businesses with over $500 million in annual revenue to prepare climate-related financial risk reports and make them public from CEQA requirements.
• Provides $1,000 from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the State Air Resources Board for implementing these regulations.

Who It Names or Affects

• Large businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenue that must report their greenhouse gas emissions.
• Medium-sized businesses with over $500 million in annual revenue that must prepare climate-related financial risk reports and make them public.

Terms To Know

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

A fund used to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California.

Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act

An existing law requiring large businesses to report their greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the $1,000 will be used beyond stating it is for implementing regulations.
• It is unclear what specific penalties may apply if businesses do not comply with reporting requirements.
• The exemptions from CEQA only apply to certain regulations and do not affect other environmental laws.

Official Summary Text

SB 154, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
Budget Act of 2025.
Greenhouse gases: climate corporate accountability: climate-related financial risk: regulations: California Environmental Quality Act exemption.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
Existing
law, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires, on or before July 1, 2025, the State Air Resources Board to develop and adopt regulations to require a reporting entity, defined to mean a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, as specified, to annually disclose to the emissions reporting organization, as defined, or the state board all of the reporting entity’s scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions, and scope 3 emissions, as defined. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties for nonfiling, late filing, or other failure to meet the requirements of the act, as provided.
This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA.
Existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, a covered entity, defined to mean a
corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $500,000,000, as specified, to prepare a climate-related financial risk report, as specified, and to make this report available to the public on its own internet website. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties from a covered entity that fails to make the report publicly available on its internet website or publishes an inadequate or insufficient report.
This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA.
(2) This bill would appropriate from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund $1,000 to the State Air Resources Board for purposes of implementing the above-described provisions relating to climate corporate accountability and climate-related financial risk, as provided.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2025.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF