Compliance with AB 1305, the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (Health & Safety Code sections 44475 – 44475.3), is mandatory for certain entities, but there is still no official date for initial disclosures under AB 1305.  

AB 1305 requires website disclosures by certain entities, and failure to comply with AB 1305 may subject those entities to significant penalties.  AB 1305 requires annual website disclosures by entities that (1) market or sell voluntary carbon offsets (VCOs) in California; (2) operate in and purchase or use VCOs sold in California and make claims such as those related to carbon neutrality or significant reductions in carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions, or (3) operate in California, and “make claims within the state” such as those related to carbon neutrality or significant reductions in carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions.  Failure to comply can subject those entities to civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation and up to a total of $500,000.

Although there is still no official deadline for posting initial disclosures under AB 1305, companies may want to do so by January 1, 2025.  AB 1305 was signed into law on October 7, 2023, and does not specify when initial website disclosures must be posted.  As a result, there was concern that initial disclosures would need to be posted by the law’s effective date of  January 1, 2024.  Although not binding, AB 1305’s sponsor, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, sent a letter to the Chief Clerk of the California Assembly in November 2023 clarifying that he had intended that initial disclosures would be posted by January 1, 2025.  Unfortunately, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Gabriel in February 2024 (AB 2331) that would have specified a compliance deadline in 2025 failed to pass.

AB 1305 can be found here, and a copy of Assemblymember Gabriel’s November 2023 letter to the Chief Clerk of the California Assembly can be found here.