H.R. 8330

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8330 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8330

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 16, 2026

Ms. Hageman (for herself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Stauber, and Mr. 
Moore of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

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.
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