Bill > SB684

This bill establishes the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Program, which would require major fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change damages in California. The program would require fossil fuel companies with majority ownership in businesses that extracted or refined fossil fuels between 1990 and 2024, and that are responsible for over 1 billion metric tons of global emissions, to contribute to a new state fund. The California Environmental Protection Agency would conduct a comprehensive climate cost study to quantify the total damages from climate change, estimated through 2045, and then assess each responsible party a proportionate share of those costs. The collected funds would be used for qualifying expenditures that help California mitigate and adapt to climate change, with a requirement that at least 40% of the funds directly benefit disadvantaged communities. The bill emphasizes that this is not an assignment of fault but a mechanism to help the state address climate change impacts, and it does not limit other potential legal actions against polluters. The program would run until 2045, with the Legislative Analyst's Office conducting independent evaluations every five years to assess the program's effectiveness.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB684