On Aug. 13, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied the motion by Western Growers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the California Chamber of Commerce and other business groups for a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of Senate Bills 253 and 261.

SB 253 requires companies with over $1 billion in annual revenues doing business in California to disclose annually their greenhouse gas emissions, including direct (Scope 1), indirect from energy use (Scope 2) and indirect upstream and downstream emissions (Scope 3). SB 261 requires companies with over $500 million in revenues to prepare biennial reports disclosing their climate-related financial risks and the measures they are taking to address those risks.

With regard to SB 253, the court held that the plaintiffs did not show a likelihood of success on the merits of their First Amendment facial challenge. The court credited the State’s dual interests in (1) ensuring that investors have reliable information on which to base investment decisions and (2) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and found that the law’s disclosure requirements are factual, not misleading, and not controversial.

The court also concluded that plaintiffs failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of their facial challenge to SB 261. Although the disclosures require companies to assess and report on climate-related financial risks, the court found that this requirement did not warrant enjoining the law at this stage.

Next Steps

The denial of the Plaintiffs’ motion means California may continue to implement SBs 253 and 261 while the case proceeds. In the meantime, Plaintiffs, including Western Growers, asked the district court for an injunction pending appeal. If the Court denies the injunction pending appeal, Plaintiffs will then ask the Ninth Circuit for injunctive relief.