As US companies gear up to comply with California’s GHG reporting requirements, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently issued draft rules for implementation. These rules relate to both SB 253 and SB 261, despite the latter currently being enjoined by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The draft rules are very close to what we’ve expected from CARB, and there are no major curveballs. A recent Gibson Dunn memo discusses the details:
“The proposed regulations issued by CARB contain few changes to the key concepts previewed at CARB’s November 2025 public workshop discussed in our earlier client update. Specifically, key definitions remain largely unchanged, including “doing business in California” and “revenue,” which are still based on the California Revenue and Tax Code, and “parent” and “subsidiary”. Additionally, the categories of exempt entities and first-year SB 253 reporting deadline for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of August 10, 2026 remain unchanged.”
The proposed rules do offer new insights related to recordkeeping, fee administration, penalties, and injunctive relief in cases of non-payment of fees. These proposed rules are subject to a 45-day comment period, which will conclude on February 9, 2026. Additionally, CARB is hosting a public hearing on February 26 in Sacramento, California, which will be available to attendees both remotely and in person. This guidance is valuable as the first year of reports will be due under SB 253 in August of 2026. The timing of SB 261 is currently unknown as litigation plays out, but we’ll be monitoring any updates closely.
Our members can learn more about California’s disclosure laws here.
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