2025 State Policy Roundup

Dear 1.5°Climate Members, 

Thanks to your generosity, we’ve collectively invested $1.42 million in state policy campaigns so far this year. Crucially, this support has provided surge funding for campaigns that needed an extra boost. Resources have been directed towards a range of tactics – including grassroots lobby days, targeted ads in key legislative districts, additional staffing capacity in state capitols, and more. We’re excited to celebrate what we’ve achieved together and to begin thinking about how we can build on this momentum in the months ahead, even as federal climate progress continues to unravel.

Following the results of the November 2024 election, we immediately shifted our focus to state legislatures, recognizing that meaningful climate action in 2025 and 2026 would have to be driven at the state-level. At the end of 2024, we spotlighted several national organizations working across states to advance a broad range of climate and environmental legislation. The National Caucus of Environmental Lawmakers (NCEL), The States Project, and Climate Cabinet have played critical roles equipping lawmakers with the policy expertise, networks, and tools they need to champion climate priorities effectively. We strongly encourage you to read their impact reports for a more comprehensive overview of what states accomplished on climate in 2025.  

Importantly, some state legislatures where we’ve engaged are still in session and the outcomes of the efforts we’ve supported are still unfolding. Most notably, 1.5°Climate members have invested $291k in California to help strengthen and reauthorize the state’s cap-and-invest program and make polluters pay. We still have $94k in matching funds remaining for contributions received before the end of July. It’s worth noting that our members’ support for Clean & Prosperous Washington in late 2024 helped enable the successful launch of Clean & Prosperous California, which is now playing a key role in California’s cap-and-invest reauthorization campaign. The NY League of Conservation Voters continues its work to get New York’s cap-and-invest rulemaking off the ground as well. 

We extend our sincere gratitude to all of our members and partners who shared insights into state-level opportunities for climate progress, and to those who provided and unlocked matching funds for the organizations leading the charge in these states. Our partnership with Energy Action Fund was especially invaluable. Their expertise, deep understanding of the state legislative landscape, and resources to match our members’ investments helped ensure that our funding reached the campaigns where it could have the greatest impact.

Here are some high-level updates on the progress we’ve made. 

Defeating anti-renewable legislation

Despite the aggressive anti-renewable push in the Texas legislature, Texas Advanced Energy Business United and the Texas Consumer Association worked with partners to successfully block legislation that would have stacked the deck against renewable energy – in a state where the impacts could not be more consequential. SB 388 would have required one megawatt of gas for every megawatt of wind, solar and storage that gets built, effectively penalizing renewables and upending the state’s competitive energy market. SB 819 would have imposed restrictive siting and permitting requirements to slam the breaks on new renewable energy projects. With these bills – and other harmful proposals – defeated, Texas will charge forward in building the country’s largest clean energy market.

Streamlining Rooftop Solar and Home Battery Permitting 

Permit Power passed SB 1202 in Texas to streamline rooftop solar and home battery permitting and inspection, allowing ~30% of families in the state to have access to instant or near-instant permitting. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the House and Senate and was signed into law by the governor. 

Permit Power also successfully passed S4100/A5265 unanimously out of the New Jersey legislature and is on the governor’s desk for signature.Permit Power has successfully built support for these bills by earning media, running paid ads, publishing op-eds and infographics, and cultivating a broad spectrum of partners across the political spectrum who can secure bipartisan support for these common sense policies. 

Advancing Pro-Climate, Pro-Housing Land Use Reforms 

Welcoming Neighbors Network successfully advanced a package of pro-housing reforms in Texas, several of which carry significant climate benefits by promoting density and reducing car dependency. 

  • SB 840 legalizes multifamily and mixed-use housing in commercial zones in Texas’s ~20 largest cities. 
  • SB 15 establishes the state’s first minimum lot size reform, allowing new single-family homes on 3,000 square-foot lots in new subdivisions (5+ acres) in cities over 150,000 residents.  
  • HB 24 eases the path for municipal site rezonings, making broader land use reforms more politically viable while enabling more housing near jobs, transit and amenities.
  • SB 2385 changes the state’s building code to allow single-stairwell apartments up to 6 stories tall, which should result in more infill housing development across Texas. 

In North Carolina, where the session is still ongoing, H369 ends costly parking mandates and thus encourages more housing near jobs, transit, and amenities and helps reduce car dependency. The bill passed out of the NC House of Representatives unanimously and now goes to the Senate, which will be an uphill battle – but its passage is possible.

Expanding Renewable Energy Procurement in Maryland 

In Maryland, legislative leadership and the governor introduced energy bills that ultimately incorporated key provisions from the Abundant, Affordable Clean Energy Act, which was supported by Chesapeake Climate Action Network. The Next Generation Energy Act (HB1035/SB0937) mandates the procurement of 150 MW of grid-connected battery storage and other dispatchable clean energy resources. It also imposes stronger oversight of gas utility investments and includes protections for ratepayers. The legislation features gas system reform, mandates prevailing wages for clean energy projects, and removes incineration from the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. While the bill does allow for the approval of 3.1 GW of new natural gas capacity to qualify for fast-track permitting,the battery storage procurement requirement is expected to reduce market demand for new gas infrastructure. Some other important climate bills in Maryland were vetoed by the governor, but partners are hopeful that the legislature will soon overturn them.  

Just Transition Investments in New Mexico  

In New Mexico, while efforts to codify net-zero targets were unsuccessful (more on that below), Semilla Action and Conservation Voters NM successfully passed the Community Benefit Fund (SB48 + SB49) which was also highlighted by 1.5°Climate. The legislation provides $210 million in direct investments to communities for clean energy expansion, climate resilience and workforce development. The funding will support a wide range of projects to mitigate the impacts of climate change, including training workers in the oil and gas industry for other jobs, improving the electric grid, making public buildings more energy efficient, protecting human health, developing EV charging infrastructure, and more.The first allocation of the Fund has already been announced, with $500k invested in the Northern New Mexico Youth Fund to train underserved youth in non-extractive industry careers to support the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. 

Laying the Groundwork for 2026 

Passing state legislation is difficult work and not every policy we supported made it across the finish line this year. However, the organizations that we highlighted made significant gains and set the stage for climate progress in 2026. 

  • In Colorado, the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project worked with the governor’s office and the environmental community to negotiate 100% Clean bill language, which was up against the clock and stiff opposition from utilities, labor and business groups. The speaker has committed to supporting the 100% Clean effort in next year’s session, and utilities and other opposing parties have agreed to engage on the topic during the interim. 
  • While the Community Benefit Fund was a huge win in NM, the Clean Horizons Act – which would have codified the governor’s climate pollution reduction limits – was tabled in the Senate Finance Committee after the oil and gas industry launched a $200k media campaign to spread misinformation about it. Polls show that the majority of New Mexicans support the policy, and the broad coalition of support that was built in 2025 is now pivoting to plan a robust campaign to build political will for the 2026 session. 
  • In Alaska, although the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) did not pass this legislative session, delays in the LNG gas import contract negotiations have created a continued window of opportunity for its passage in 2026. Organizations like AK PIRG and the Renewable Energy Alaska Project have played a pivotal role, not only by effectively educating lawmakers and the public about the importance of transitioning to clean energy, but also by actively working with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to shape regulations that support the growth of community-scale renewable energy projects.
  • The dollars we raised for Climate Hawai’i were not to advance specific legislation; our funding supported ongoing stakeholder engagement to ensure that the state successfully reaches their 100% clean energy goal. Climate Hawai’i is filling a significant gap in the state’s decarbonization and climate resilience efforts by holding conversations about obstacles and solutions to fully transition the state away from fossil fuels. 

The funding that you helped us channel into these campaigns allowed organizations to expand their capacity and amplify their efforts to inform the public and lawmakers about the critical importance of transitioning to renewable energy. State-level policy campaigns – especially those pursuing bold, transformative legislation – are often long-term endeavors that unfold over multiple years. The bills we helped pass will require vigilant implementation and, in some cases, robust defense in future legislative sessions or on the ballot. These policy wins not only represent major progress but also lay the groundwork for future laws that will further reduce emissions and accelerate the shift to a clean energy economy. Even in states where the policies we supported did not pass, we’ve strengthened the field – ensuring that the organizations we invested in are going into 2026 better resourced, more experienced and strategically positioned to win. 

Thank you for supporting this vital work. Please let us know if you’d like more information about any of the state campaigns or organizations, or if you’d like to schedule a call to discuss 1.5°Climate’s priorities over the coming months.

We are so grateful for your partnership.

Page Atcheson
Program Director
1.5°Climate