California SB 253 & SB 261 Tracker

General Overview

• California now requires large companies to report climate information. Two 2023 laws reach any US-organized company with major revenue doing business in the state — public or private: SB 253 covers greenhouse-gas emissions; SB 261 covers climate-related financial risk.
• One law is live, the other is paused. SB 253 is in effect and first-year reporting is proceeding. SB 261 is enjoined while a First Amendment challenge plays out, so no one is currently required to file it.
• The first deadline is proposed, not final. It has moved more than once, and it only becomes final when the implementing regulation — currently being revised — clears public comment and approval. CARB has proposed November 10, 2026.
• Year one is a grace period, not a gotcha. No outside audit is required for the first report, the regulator has said it will credit good-faith efforts, and companies that genuinely weren’t tracking emissions can file a short letter saying so instead of a full report.

What is SB 253?

SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires business entities organized under US law with more than $1 billion in total annual revenue that do business in California to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions every year, measured under the GHG Protocol. Reporting begins in 2026 with Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for the prior fiscal year; Scope 3 reporting begins in 2027. Reports are filed through CARB’s designated reporting mechanism, with details set by the implementing regulation currently in revision.

What is SB 261?

SB 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, requires US-organized entities with more than $500 million in revenue doing business in California to prepare biennial climate-related financial risk reports consistent with a recognized framework (TCFD, IFRS S2, or an equivalent government-mandated regime). It is currently enjoined pending appeal, so no deadline is being enforced — though CARB’s voluntary docket remains open through December 31, 2026, and more than 100 companies have filed.

The deadline history — and why it keeps moving

The first SB 253 deadline has now been scheduled three times: CARB staff initially floated June 30, 2026; the regulation the Board adopted in February set August 10, 2026; and the June 24 bulletin proposes November 10, 2026. The mechanism behind the latest move is procedural: CARB submitted its adopted Initial Regulation to OAL on May 20, then withdrew it thirty-five days later to make limited clarifying changes — and because amending the package restarts review, the agency deferred the deadline so covered entities get adequate time after formal adoption. The pattern is the point: every operative date in this program lives in a regulation that is still moving, which is why a dated, change-logged tracker rather than a point-in-time alert is the way to follow it.

What must be in the 2026 report

Scope 1 covers emissions from sources the company owns or controls — fuel combustion, process emissions, fugitive emissions. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased energy. Scope 3 — the value chain — is not part of the 2026 report; it begins in 2027 under a separate rulemaking now in progress.

Who files, and at what level

Coverage turns on three elements: US organization, the revenue threshold, and “doing business in California” (CARB’s proposed definition tracks the Franchise Tax Board test). A parent — including a foreign parent, per CARB staff guidance — may file a consolidated report covering its in-scope US subsidiaries, though fees are assessed per in-scope entity even under consolidated reporting. Public-company status is irrelevant: private companies meeting the tests are covered on the same terms.

The trigger event: CARB’s revised regulation

Everything now hangs on one forthcoming publication. When CARB releases the revised Initial Regulation, it opens a 15-day public comment period, after which the package is resubmitted to OAL — and only OAL approval makes the November 10 deadline, the fee schedule, the reporting mechanism, and the “doing business” definition final. CARB has not said when the revised text will appear, or which requirements the “limited changes” will clarify. Candidates flagged in public comments include writing the first-year enforcement relief into the regulation text and the insurance-exemption question. This page will carry the full breakdown when the revised text publishes.

First-year flexibility: what CARB has said, and where it lives

CARB has repeatedly stated it will exercise enforcement discretion for good-faith first-year submissions, and its December 5, 2024 enforcement notice allows companies that were not collecting emissions data — and not planning to — as of that date to submit a letter on company letterhead stating so, instead of a full report. A caution law-firm alerts consistently flag: this relief currently lives in enforcement statements, not regulation text, and commenters at the February 2026 hearing asked CARB to codify it. Whether it is written into the pending revision is one of the open questions above. Regbase describes this option; whether and how a particular company relies on it is a question for counsel against the revised regulation once published.

Settled vs. proposed

Settled (statute): the $1B and $500M thresholds, annual Scope 1 & 2 disclosure from 2026, Scope 3 from 2027, the GHG Protocol as the measurement framework, and penalties up to $500K (SB 253) and $50K (SB 261) per year. SB 253 remains in effect — the Ninth Circuit declined to enjoin it.

Proposed (regulation in revision): the November 10, 2026 deadline, the reporting mechanism, the fee schedule, the “doing business in California” definition, the assurance phasing schedule, and insurer treatment. All of it can still move.

Ongoing litigation

In U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Sanchez, No. 25-5327, business groups challenge both laws, principally on First Amendment grounds. The district court denied a preliminary injunction in August 2025; on November 18, 2025, the Ninth Circuit enjoined SB 261 pending appeal but declined to enjoin SB 253. Oral argument was held January 9, 2026 — with the panel probing whether emissions reporting is factual operational data or compelled ideological speech — and a ruling is awaited. If the Ninth Circuit affirms the denial as to SB 261, the appellate injunction dissolves and CARB can reinstate SB 261 enforcement. Summary-judgment proceedings continue in the district court in parallel.

The insurance-exemption question

A live gray area, reported here as contested: SB 261’s statute expressly addresses insurance companies; SB 253’s statute contains no express carve-out; yet the withdrawn regulation exempted insurers from both laws. At the February hearing — over objections from the laws’ own authors — the Board retained the exemption but directed staff to evaluate it with the Department of Insurance, making it a candidate for change in the pending revision or a future rulemaking. CARB has not resolved the question.

How companies are preparing

Law-firm alerts broadly converge on treating November 10, 2026 as the working target while flagging that it is proposed, not settled; continuing Scope 1 & 2 data assembly under the GHG Protocol on the prior fiscal year; and documenting what was being collected as of December 5, 2024, given how CARB has described its first-year expectations. On the SB 261 side, the 100+ voluntary filings show a substantial cohort proceeding despite the injunction. Regbase reports these observable postures; it does not advise on them.

FAQ

What exactly is due on November 10, 2026? The first annual SB 253 report: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for the prior fiscal year, measured under the GHG Protocol — if the proposed deadline survives the 15-day comment period and OAL approval.

Could the deadline move again? Yes. November 10 is a proposal, and CARB has moved the date twice already.

Do we need third-party assurance for the first report? No. No assurance is required for the first-year 2026 Scope 1 & 2 report. Limited assurance phases in for later years, with reasonable assurance from 2030 under the proposed framework.

Is Scope 3 part of the 2026 report? No — Scope 3 begins in 2027, under a separate CARB rulemaking now in workshops, with a final regulation expected by the end of 2026.

Is SB 261 enforceable right now? No — it is enjoined pending appeal, and no deadline is being enforced. CARB’s voluntary docket remains open through December 31, 2026.

What if we never started collecting emissions data? CARB’s December 2024 enforcement notice describes a letter option for companies not collecting (and not planning to collect) data as of December 5, 2024. This is enforcement discretion, not regulation text — a distinction law-firm alerts consistently flag.

Are private companies covered? Yes. Coverage turns on US organization, revenue, and California nexus — not public-company status.

Changelog

• July 13, 2026 — Accuracy and format pass. Corrected the SB 261 voluntary-filing count to 100+ (previously overstated as 170+); updated the CARB program, rulemaking, and enforcement-notice links to the renamed program pages; repointed the Ninth Circuit docket link (case No. 25-5327 confirmed); added the plain-English summary section.
• July 8, 2026 — Page launched. Current status: revised regulation text and 15-day comment notice not yet published; no Ninth Circuit ruling. Regulation lifecycle to date: December 26, 2025 proposal → February 26, 2026 adoption → May 20 OAL submission → June 24 withdrawal for revision. Fee notices to be issued by September 10 with 60 days to pay; 100+ voluntary SB 261 filings.

Primary sources: CARB Climate Disclosure Program · CARB program news (June 24, 2026 deadline deferral) · CARB SB 253/261 rulemaking materials · CARB FAQ (updated June 2026) · CARB enforcement notice (Dec. 5, 2024) · Case docket — Chamber of Commerce v. Sanchez, No. 25-5327 (Climate Case Chart) · HSC § 38532