[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3839 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3839

 To protect the reliability of the electric grid by preempting certain 
            State climate mandates, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 11, 2026

  Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To protect the reliability of the electric grid by preempting certain 
            State climate mandates, 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 ``Ratepayer Affordability and 
Transparency in Energy Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to safeguard the reliability of the 
electric grid by preempting State climate mandates, including renewable 
portfolio standards, that obstruct or distort energy infrastructure 
planning, inflate electricity costs, or otherwise imperil grid 
reliability.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) State law.--The term ``State law'' includes any 
        constitution, statute, regulation, rule, ordinance, charter, 
        order, or other authority of--
                    (A) a State; or
                    (B) any political subdivision of a State.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) a State;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and
                    (D) any other territory or possession of the United 
                States.

SEC. 4. PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN CLIMATE MANDATES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
State, political subdivision of a State, or regulatory authority may 
establish, enforce, or continue in effect any requirement, standard, 
mandate, or program that--
            (1) requires electricity generation, retail electricity 
        sales, or electricity procurement to include a specified 
        percentage or quantity of electricity derived from renewable, 
        zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources; or
            (2) conditions participation in wholesale or retail 
        electricity markets, cost recovery, or utility regulation on 
        compliance with a requirement described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Voidness of Inconsistent Laws.--Any State law or other 
requirement that is inconsistent with subsection (a) is hereby 
preempted and shall have no force or effect.
    (c) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section prohibits a State, 
political subdivision of a State, or regulatory authority, as 
applicable, from owning or operating generation facilities that use 
renewable, zero-emission, or carbon-free energy resources.
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