On December 9, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a rulemaking package for its proposed “initial regulation” to implement California’s landmark climate disclosure laws: Senate Bill (SB) 253, requiring annual reporting of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and SB 261, requiring the disclosure of climate-related financial risks. CARB also announced an in-person and virtual public hearing on the proposed rule to be held during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on February 26, 2026.
EPA Proposes to Scale Back TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule
As the longest federal government shutdown on record continued earlier this week, EPA stayed busy putting the finishing touches on one of its PFAS-related priorities — enabling EPA to “smartly collect” information about PFAS substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as required by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Early signs of EPA’s desire to simplify the TSCA PFAS reporting rule, which was finalized by the Biden EPA in 2023, were evident in the agency’s April 2025 announcement of “Major Actions to Combat PFAS Contamination” discussed here, where EPA committed to implement the required information collection “without overburdening small businesses and article importers.”
CARB Delays Rulemaking on California Climate Laws
On October 14, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) quietly announced it was delaying its release of a proposed rulemaking on California’s climate laws.
While the rules were originally mandated by January 1, 2025, a statutory amendment in 2024 pushed that deadline to July 1, 2025. As that date came and went without any proposed rulemaking, CARB announced its intent in a public workshop on August 21, 2025, to publish proposed rules on October 14. On that date, CARB instead posted a sentence on the “resources” section of its website that read, “CARB is proposing an updated timeline for bringing the initial rulemaking (including the fee-related provisions) to the board in Q1 2026.”
CARB Releases List of Entities Potentially Subject to Climate Disclosure Requirements
On September 24, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published a list of entities it believes may be subject to the state’s climate disclosure laws, Senate Bill (SB) 253 and SB 261, which require companies “doing business in California” and meeting certain revenue thresholds to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions (SB 253) and climate-related financial risks (SB 261). Both laws require disclosing entities to pay CARB annual implementation fees. The preliminary list is “intended to support development of the fee regulation” according to CARB‘s announcement. However, the list is generating surprise and confusion among the regulated (and non-regulated) community, some of whom expected to find themselves on the list, and others who did not. Adding to the confusion, CARB made clear that the list includes entities that, at least under its initial staff concepts, would be exempt from the laws; the list also appears to include insurance companies that may be statutorily exempt from SB 261.
Clarity on California’s Climate Disclosure Rules Could Be on the Horizon
As the January 1, 2026, deadline to make the first required disclosure under California’s landmark climate laws approaches, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced that it will host another virtual public workshop on August 21 to discuss its ongoing efforts to develop regulations implementing California Senate Bills (SBs) 253 and 261. SB 253 (updated by SB 219) and SB 261, which are now codified in Sections 38532 and 38533 of the California Health and Safety Code, mandate certain entities to disclose climate-related financial risks by January 1, 2026, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by a date to be determined later in 2026. As CARB announced in its May 29, 2025, workshop, the agency does not intend to issue draft regulations until the end of the year, despite SB 219’s July 1, 2025, deadline. This has left many companies potentially affected by those regulations in the dark regarding whether they will be required to make disclosures. CARB’s August 21 workshop may finally provide clarity on some of the key applicability questions that remain unanswered as these 2026 disclosure deadlines loom.
CARB Releases FAQs Addressing Upcoming California Climate Disclosures
On July 9, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to its efforts to implement California’s landmark climate disclosure laws, SB 253 (requiring reporting of GHG emissions) and SB 261 (requiring disclosure of climate-related financial risks). Although draft implementing regulations are not anticipated before December 2025, public and private companies subject to the laws’ requirements face their first compliance deadlines beginning January 1, 2026.
CARB Workshop on Climate Disclosure Laws: More Questions Than Answers
On May 29, 2025, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) held a virtual public workshop to review and discuss its rulemaking response to California Senate Bills (SBs) 253, 261, and 219, which require companies that “do business in California” and meet certain revenue thresholds to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and material climate-related financial risks. Although CARB staff presented some “initial staff concepts” concerning CARB’s approach to implementing SBs 253 and 261, CARB asked more questions than it provided answers. The clear takeaway from the workshop was that CARB has a long way to go before it is ready to issue a formal notice of proposed rulemaking on SBs 253 or 261, and there is still an open question of whether CARB will issue guidance or regulations for SB 261, which is self-implementing.
PFAS Regulatory Landscape Update — The Message? Stay Tuned.
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Court Order Hobbles Challenge to California’s Climate Disclosure Laws
Companies following the ongoing legal challenge to California’s climate disclosure laws in hopes that the court would strike down or limit the scope of these laws will be disappointed by the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 3, 2025. The order dismissed constitutional challenges levied against SB 253, which requires large companies “doing business” in California to annually report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and SB 261, which requires disclosure of climate-related financial risks. The ruling clears the path for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop implementing regulations for SB 253, which are statutorily required to be issued by July 1, 2025.
Recent Executive Action May Impact PFAS Regulation
The regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or “forever chemicals,” was a focal point for the Biden administration. In April 2024, the administration, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), issued two key PFAS rules. The first set nationwide drinking water standards, or maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), for six types of PFAS, and the second designated PFOA and PFOS, and their salts and structural isomers, as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Both rules are currently being challenged in court, although no judicial stays were requested or are in place.