According to CoinMeta, Federal Judge Brenda Sanes ruled that the state of New York cannot enforce a 2024 state law that attempted to impose fines of approximately $75 billion on carbon-emitting companies that caused climate damage between 2000 and 2018. Sanes supported 22 Republican state attorneys general and industry groups such as the American Chamber of Commerce, arguing that the state measure was superseded by federal law. She pointed out that the Clean Air Act does not authorize states to adopt emission compensation schemes. The law required about thirty fossil fuel companies to pay $3 billion per year for 25 years, totaling $75 billion, with the funds to be used for infrastructure construction, including coastal wetlands and measures to address extreme weather. Sanes stated that enforcing the law could undermine the balance between environmental protection and economic growth. A coalition of state attorneys general led by West Virginia Attorney General John Maxkey filed a lawsuit in 2025, claiming that the law was an "ultra vires" action driven by political motives and punished traditional energy companies. Maxkey said, "We are challenging this law because it is a form of money-making by New York's elites."