April 16 (legislative day, April 14), 2026
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Budd, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Lee) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To prohibit liability against those engaged in the mining, extraction, production, refinement, transportation, distribution, marketing, manufacture, or sale of energy for damages or injunctive or other relief from the use of their products, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Congressional declaration; purposes; findings
(a) Congressional declaration
Congress declares that the general welfare and the common defense and security require effective action—
(1)
to develop, and increase the efficiency of, all energy sources to meet the needs of present and future generations;
(2)
to increase the productivity of the economy of the United States and strengthen the position of the United States in regard to international trade;
(3)
to make the United States self-sufficient in energy; and
(4)
to promote and preserve affordable energy for families and businesses in the United States.
(b) Purposes
The purposes of this Act are—
(1)
to provide for the regulation of interstate commerce; and
(2)
to promote the production and use of affordable, abundant, and reliable energy resources.
(c) Findings
Congress finds that—
(1)
affordable, abundant, and reliable energy resources are a necessary component of the general welfare of the United States;
(2)
the production and use of abundant energy resources promotes—
(A)
the national security of the United States; and
(B)
the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the United States;
(3)
the regulation of interstate, international, and transboundary emissions in the ambient air is within the exclusive jurisdiction of Federal law;
(4)
the efforts of States to impose liability on persons engaged in the energy business for interstate and global emissions, whether through State tort law, consumer protection claims, the passage and enforcement of so-called climate superfund laws
, or other civil actions, invade the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Government;
(5)
the efforts to attribute local weather patterns and the local harms that result from meteorological events, such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, or heat waves, to persons engaged in the energy business lack scientific credibility and are, therefore, arbitrary;
(6)
the efforts of States and municipalities to impose retroactive liability on persons engaged in the energy business for otherwise lawful conduct offends elementary considerations of fairness and the Constitution of the United States;
(7)
the efforts described in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)—
(A)
are a strain on the judiciary;
(B)
erode public confidence in the administration of justice;
(C)
threaten to destabilize entire industries that are lawfully engaging in commerce in the United States; and
(D)
burden the interstate, Tribal, and foreign commerce of the United States;
(8)
the efforts described in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) undermine the national security of the United States, as affordable, abundant, and reliable energy is critical for the readiness of the Armed Forces of the United States and the ability to deploy those Armed Forces to deter and counter the adversaries of the United States;
(9)
the efforts described in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) offend the equal sovereign dignity that each of the States enjoys, invading the autonomy of the other States within their respective spheres;
(10)
the Commerce Clause of section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States authorizes Congress to regulate all commerce among the several States, with foreign nations, and with Indian Tribes; and
(11)
to discharge the constitutional duties of Congress, the Commerce Clause of section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States empowers Congress to craft legislation under such terms and conditions as are necessary and proper.
Sec. 3. Definitions
In this Act:
(1) Climate suit
The term climate suit means any suit in law or equity that is brought against any person engaged in the energy business that seeks damages, including punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, or abatement, restitution, or any form of equitable or other relief for alleged past or future harm resulting directly or indirectly from climate change, including because of marketing, alleged misrepresentation, alleged failure to warn, or any other speech.
(2) Energy
The term energy means crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, or coal.
(3) Energy penalty law
The term energy penalty law means any State law, regulation, or ordinance that purports to require compensatory payments from, or otherwise expose to liability, any person engaged in the energy business that the law, regulation, or ordinance deems, either directly or through an administrative process, responsible for alleged costs or harms resulting directly or indirectly from climate change, including because of marketing, alleged misrepresentation, alleged failure to warn, or any other speech.
(4) Greenhouse gas
The term greenhouse gas means a gas released into the atmosphere that traps heat, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
(5) Person
The term person means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trade association, or other entity, including any governmental entity, such as a State.
(6) Person engaged in the energy business
The term person engaged in the energy business means a person that devotes time, attention, or labor to the mining, extraction, production, refinement, transportation, distribution, manufacture, or sale of energy as a regular course of business in or affecting interstate commerce.
(7) Qualified liability action
The term qualified liability action means a climate suit or any action or proceeding to implement or enforce an energy penalty law that is brought by any person against a person engaged in the energy business.
(8) State
The term State includes—
(A)
each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
(B)
any other territory or possession of the United States;
(C)
any political subdivision or instrumentality of an entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B); and
(D)
any State official acting in their official capacity.
(9) Trade association
The term trade association means any corporation, unincorporated association, federation, business league, or professional or business organization—
(A)
that is not organized or operated for profit;
(B)
that is an organization described in subsection (c)(6) of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under subsection (a) of that section; and
(C)
2 or more members of which are people engaged in the energy business.
Sec. 4. Prohibition on energy penalty laws and the bringing of qualified liability actions in Federal or State court
(a) In general
A qualified liability action may not be filed or maintained in any Federal or State court.
(b) Dismissal of pending actions
Any qualified liability action that is pending on the date of enactment of this Act shall be immediately dismissed by the court in which the qualified liability action is brought or is currently pending.
(c) Effect on State laws
Each energy penalty law is void and of no effect.
(d) Federal preemption
(1) In general
The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change is and continues to be governed exclusively by Federal law and regulated by Federal agencies with authority delegated to those Federal agencies by Congress.
(2) No private right of action
No private right of action or claim shall be maintained, implied, or inferred under any State law with respect to climate change-related harms from greenhouse gas emissions.
Sec. 5. Severability
If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.