SB 261: Greenhouse gases: climate-related financial risk.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor and enforce compliance with the act. The act requires the state board to make available, and update at least annually, on its internet website the emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants for each facility that reports to the state board, as provided.

This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, a covered entity, as defined, to prepare a climate-related financial risk report disclosing the entitys climate-related financial risk and measures adopted to reduce and adapt to climate-related financial risk. The bill would require the covered entity to make a copy of the report available to the public on its own internet website.

The bill would require the state board to contract with a climate reporting organization, as defined, to biennially prepare a public report that contains specified information, including a review of the disclosure of climate-related financial risk contained in a subset of publicly available climate-related financial risk reports and an analysis of the systemic and sectorwide climate-related financial risks facing the state. The bill would require the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties from covered entities for failing to make the report publicly available on its internet website or publishing an inadequate or insufficient report, as specified.

The bill would require covered entities to pay an annual fee for the state boards actual and reasonable costs to administer and implement the bill. The bill would create the Climate-Related Financial Risk Disclosure Fund, require the proceeds of the fees to be deposited in the fund, and continuously appropriate the moneys in the fund to the state board for purposes of the bill. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.