Proposed ESG Disclosure and Names Rule Reforms

This edition of The Essentials coincides with the close of California’s 2025 legislative session and summarizes the most significant employment-related bills enacted this year. We have highlighted key provisions of the new laws taking effect in 2026 and one related to the use of artificial intelligence that took effect in October 2025.

Congress created a new framework around payment stablecoins but has done more than regulate a digital asset class—it has quietly set in motion a potential transformation of the regulation of core payment systems. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes major changes to the Internal Revenue Code’s clean energy tax provisions, particularly to the provisions that were extended, expanded, and established as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

California’s Draft Zero Waste Plan lays out an ambitious strategy to eliminate waste and transform material use, reuse, and management across the state. For businesses—including manufacturers, retailers, packaging companies, and food service providers—the message from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is clear: the future is circular.