Multiple bills were on the table leading into 2025. Here’s a snapshot of where they are or how they fared.
· Hawaii came oh-so-close this year. It passed both chambers, but the conference committee failed to act on the bill (and others). The resulting political fallout from that failure may benefit future legislative CFS efforts.
· In Illinois, bill sponsor Senator Koehler continues to strive for consensus in partnership with stakeholder allies. In addition to in-person meetings, there are ongoing topical side meetings to come out with a new draft. Crediting for agricultural practices and ways to specifically benefit in-state industry are ongoing conversations.
· Massachusetts is chugging along to build and solidify legislative support for a CFS in the state for the 2025-26 legislative session. The current standalone bills are likely to be packaged in a larger bill, of which there are multiple potential candidates in the pipeline. The CFS was included in an economic development bill which passed the MA Senate in 2025, so that could be a repeat appearance depending how the politics evolve.
· The Michigan CFS bill was rebranded as the Competitive Fuels Act this year to position it for bipartisan support. The bill itself is expected to get a hearing later this year.
· Minnesota is on ice until after the 2026 midterms due to paralysis of a split legislature.
· The Assembly version of the New Jersey CFS bill passed the Environment and Solid Waste Committee in March, and was referred to State and Local Government. The Senate version is with its Environment and Energy Committee. The session runs through 2025, so there’s still time if the legislature gets motivated.
· In yet another frustrating end to New York’s legislative session, the CFS passed the Senate for the third time, and for the third time died in the House Environmental Conservation. The Committee Chair has repeatedly refused to bring the bill for a hearing, despite near supermajority co-sponsorship in the chamber each session.
· Pennsylvania is another state that remains in play this year, with a first-in-the-nation bill to include both clean fuel and clean heat standards in a single package. The legislative text remains a work in progress with the lawyers. Meanwhile, the campaign has established broad industry support. This would be another bipartisan campaign.