Despite a pledge more than two weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to sign SB 253, a bill requiring large corporations to report Scope 3 supply chain emissions.
Rachael O’Brien, CDFA deputy secretary of legislative affairs, expects Newsom’s signing statement to outline some additional policy work needed to refine the focus of the broad legislation. The California Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for cleanup legislation in the next session.
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross explained that before Newsom announced he would sign SB 253, several agencies weighed in on the bill over concerns with a lack of data on Scope 3 emissions.
“There's always an implementation process,” assured Ross. “Nothing just passes and happens.”
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She recognized the deadlines are “very challenging”—despite late amendments to delay reporting and penalties—and she noted that companies cannot report information that is not readily available. While one farm may track its emissions, Ross worried about a company buying 10,000 farm products.
“There's a lot of questions to be answered,” she said. “It will be a process at the Air Resources Board that everyone needs to be engaged in.”
