WASHINGTON — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups on Friday urged the Supreme Court to block new California laws that would require thousands of companies to disclose their emissions and their impact on climate change.
One of the laws is due to come into force on January 1. emergency appeal asks court temporarily suspend it.
Their lawyers argue that the measures violate the First Amendment because the government would force companies to talk about its preferred topic.
“In less than eight weeks, California will force thousands of businesses across the country to speak out on the deeply controversial topic of climate change,” they said in the appeal, which also spoke on behalf of the California Chamber of Commerce and the Los Angeles County Federation of Business.
They say two new laws will require companies to disclose the “climate risks” they foresee and how their operations and emissions contribute to climate change.
“Both laws are part of California's overt campaign to force companies to engage in public climate debates and pressure them to change their behavior,” they said. Their goal, according to the sponsors, is to “make sure the public really knows who is green and who is not.”
One law SB 261 would require several thousand companies doing business in California to assess their “climate-related financial risk” and how they can mitigate that risk. A second measureSenate Bill 253, which applies to larger companies, would require them to measure and disclose their emissions and how their operations could impact the climate.
The appeal argues that these laws amount to unconstitutional coercion of speech.
“No state can infringe on First Amendment rights to set climate policy for the nation. Compulsory speech laws are presumptively unconstitutional—especially where, as here, they dictate a value script on a controversial issue like climate change,” they argue.
The emergency appeal was filed by Washington lawyer Eugene Scalia, son of the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
The companies tried and failed to persuade judges in California to block the measures. Exxon Mobil filed a lawsuit in Sacramento, and the Chamber of Commerce filed suit in Los Angeles.
In August, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II in Los Angeles. refused to block laws on the grounds that they “regulate commercial speech,” which receives less protection under the First Amendment. He said businesses are generally required to disclose financial data and factual information about their activities.
Business lawyers said they appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking for an injunction, but no action was taken.
Soon after the chamber filed its appeal, prosecutors in Iowa and 24 other Republican-leaning states joined in support. They said they “strongly oppose this radical green speech mandate that California is trying to force on companies.”
The justices are likely to demand a response from California prosecutors next week before deciding on the appeal.
