HB 2070

This bill establishes that it is the public policy of this state that people have the right to engage in and invest in companies that engage in covered activities. This bill p rohibits granting injunctive relief or assigning liability for covered emissions resulting from covered activities unless such activities are proven to be in violation of the federal Clean Air Act or another federal environmental law. If a violation of federal law is proven, liability and remedies must be determined based solely on federal law. As used in this paragraph, " covered activities"" means the explo ration, production, transportation, sale, manufacturing, refining, combustion, or other use of coal, oil, and natural gas in this state, as well as statements or omissions relating to covered emissions. Further, this bill p rohibits a covered government or private party from imposing liability in connection with covered emissions unless the liability is based solely on in-jurisdiction products, except where otherwise required by federal law. A natural person or company aggrieved by a violation of these provisions, as well as the attorney general, may bring an action or intervene for declaratory and injunctive relief, nominal damages, and other appropriate relief. DETERMINATION OF COVERED EMISSIONS This bill authorizes a natural person or company required by law to file reports to seek declaratory relief to conclusively determine and establish a definitive record of the person's covered emissions in this state. The record may include direct emissions from owned sources, indirect emissions from consumed energy, and indirect upstream and downstream emissions from sources not directly controlled by the person. In an action for declaratory relief, the department of environment and conservation must be named as the defendant, and the department must publish notice of the action on its website. The court must hear the action as expeditiously as possible and render a decision no later than 60 days after the action is started . This bill requires that t he court either (i) apply a specific formula provided in the bill or (ii) accept a calculation supported by substantial evidence. If a person chooses to use the uniform calculation, an irrebuttable presumption applies that covered emissions are zero kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent if the person's emissions are less than 10% of the annual emissions baseline multiplied by the length of the identi fied time period. As used in this paragraph, an ""annual emissions baseline"" mean s the highest total carbon dioxide emissions in the People's Republic of China and India combined for at least one calendar year or 12-month period in the preceding five years. If a submitted calculation is verified by a third-party independent verifier or assurance provider, then this bill requires the court ' s declaration to explicitly include that such verification occurred. Declarations so issued constitute a permanent and definitive record of emissions that are final and valid for all purposes and as to all persons, unless federal law requires a different methodology. APPLICABILITY This bill provides that its provisions appl y retroactively and extraterritorially ."