The bill HB 601-FN establishes a legal framework to hold companies accountable for misleading environmental marketing claims, introducing new definitions for terms such as "environmental marketing claims," "net zero claims," and "paltering." It outlines specific unlawful acts, including making untruthful claims without proper transparency or substantiation, and amends existing laws to ensure that exemptions for certain trade practices do not apply to misleading environmental claims. The bill also creates a private cause of action for individuals or entities to sue companies for deceptive practices without needing to demonstrate a specific loss, and it introduces criminal penalties for such misrepresentations. Notably, the bill emphasizes that courts may refer to federal guidelines for interpreting these claims, but these guidelines will not apply to the newly defined misleading environmental marketing claims.

Additionally, the bill introduces amendments related to liability and defenses in actions concerning climate disasters and extreme weather events. It establishes definitions for "harmed parties" and "responsible parties," outlines the conditions for civil actions, and sets a statute of limitations of three years. The bill specifies that responsible parties are jointly and severally liable for damages and clarifies that prevailing claimants are entitled to various damages. It also prohibits certain defenses, such as claims of unconstitutionality and reliance on non-binding court decisions, while affirming the sovereign immunity of the state. Importantly, the bill does not preempt existing state laws or local ordinances regulating greenhouse gas emissions and is set to take effect on January 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 358-A:1, 358-A:2, 358-A:3, 358-A:10, 358-A:13