SB 261, in plain language.

The climate-related financial risk report. Currently paused by a court — which is a schedule, not a cancellation.

Not sure what SB 253, SB 261 or CARB means? Definitions explains every term on this site, two lines each.

STATUS AS OF 2026-09-04 · show the sources

What it requires

Who reports directly>$500M

Companies doing business in California with revenue over five hundred million dollars — a threshold that reaches well below SB 253's billion.

The reportBIENNIAL

A TCFD-aligned narrative of climate-related financial risk and what the company is doing about it. First reports were due on or before January 1, 2026.

The stayNov 18, 2025

The Ninth Circuit blocked SB 261 enforcement on free-speech grounds, while leaving SB 253 standing.

CARB said it would not enforce from December 1, 2025, and opened a voluntary docket to July 1, 2026.

A full ruling was still pending after argument in January 2026.

What the pause changedLESS THAN IT READS

Roughly a hundred companies filed anyway in the first two months.

Buyers, insurers and lenders read those reports. The requests they send their own suppliers never paused at all.

The sources

  1. SB-261 bill text — California Legislative Information · 2023-10-07
  2. Ninth Circuit enjoins SB 261 — Jones Day · 2025-11
  3. CARB enforcement advisory and voluntary docket — Davis Polk · 2025-12
  4. SB 253/261 developments and litigation — Cooley · 2026-01-26