C-PACE legislation in 2025–26: new states, amendments and failed bills

As of 29 October 2026. Every status below was checked that day against the legislature’s own bill page, or against the named source where no bill page could be read. Bills move; we will update this page when they do, and the date above will change when we have.

C-PACE only exists where a state (or territory) has passed a law allowing it, and the details of that law decide what you can finance, who must consent and how the assessment ranks. So legislation is not background noise for a property owner — it decides whether the tool is available to you at all.

The trouble is that the reporting is patchy. A bill that has passed both chambers is not a law until the governor signs it, and trade coverage does not always make that distinction. This roundup sticks to what the official record shows.

Vermont: S.327 (Act 128), signed 8 June 2026

Vermont’s C-PACE authority arrived inside an economic development bill. The Vermont General Assembly’s page for S.327, “An act relating to economic development”, records it as signed into law on 8 June 2026 and enacted as Act 128.

Orrick’s InfoBytes summary of 18 June 2026 says the law took effect upon passage, and describes what it sets up:

• Districts are local. A municipality may create a C-PACE district by a majority vote of its legislative body.
• Eligible buildings. Commercial or industrial buildings, defined as any building other than a residential dwelling with fewer than five units.
• Eligible projects. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation and resiliency improvement projects. Owners must first obtain the required project analysis or certification for the type of improvement.
• Lender consent. Mortgage or deed of trust holders must consent and confirm the assessment will not trigger a default.
• Lien. The assessment lien runs with the land and takes priority over most other liens, subordinate only to property tax liens.
• Cap. The combined assessment and outstanding mortgage obligations are capped at 90 percent of the property’s appraised value.

What this means in practice: a Vermont law exists, but each town has to opt in by creating a district. If your building is in Vermont, the first question is whether your municipality has voted one in yet.

New Mexico: HB 165, effective 20 May 2026

New Mexico already had a programme; HB 165 fixed a specific obstacle. According to the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s press release of 29 May 2026, House Bill 165 clarifies that C-PACE financing can be used on properties that carry Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs), which the release says are commonly used in larger commercial and residential development. The release says the change removes a barrier that had blocked projects financed through IRBs, and that the new law took effect on 20 May 2026.

The same release says owners and lessees, not local governments, are responsible for repayment; that the programme was created in 2023, is administered statewide by Adelante Consulting for Economic Development New Mexico, and that cities and counties opt in. It reports that the programme had supported nearly $146 million in projects since launch, as of that 29 May 2026 release.

If you were told your IRB-financed project could not use C-PACE in New Mexico, that answer may now be out of date. See our New Mexico page for what we have checked about the programme.

New Hampshire: C-PACER (SB 4), signed February 2025

New Hampshire’s change is a rewrite rather than a first law. Citizens Count summarises SB 4 (2025) as replacing the energy efficiency and clean energy districts statute with a commercial property assessed clean energy and resiliency (C-PACER) programme, and records the bill as signed by the governor, after a Senate vote on 30 January 2025 and a House vote on 13 February 2025.

The Concord Monitor reported on 27 February 2025 that Governor Kelly Ayotte had signed Senate Bill 4, the first bill she signed as governor. The paper reported that towns and cities can opt in to the programme, run by a centralised authority, which replaces the districts communities previously ran separately; that it covers certain energy, water, resilience and public benefit projects; and that it does not apply to residential housing but can be used by developers of multi-family buildings.

As with Vermont, a state law is the start, not the end: check whether your town has opted in before you plan around it.

US Virgin Islands: C-PACE Act, enacted 9 June 2026

The Legislature of the Virgin Islands’ bill tracker shows Bill 36-0248, “An act amending title 29 Virgin Islands Code by enacting the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Act”, with primary sponsor Senator Avery L. Lewis. Its action history records:

• 10 February 2026 — introduced to the Committee on Disaster Recovery, Infrastructure and Planning;
• 28 May 2026 — adopted on the floor;
• 3 June 2026 — sent to the Governor;
• 9 June 2026 — enacted, as Act 9102.

The bill was introduced in February; it was not enacted until June.

New York: A5404C / S1335C — passed both houses, not shown as signed

This is the one most often misreported. The New York State Senate’s page for Assembly Bill A5404C (sponsor: Assemblymember Stern; Senate version S1335) summarises it as amending the General Municipal Law’s municipal sustainable energy loan programme so that municipalities can make loans for qualifying water and resiliency improvements, and for low carbon intensity building components in cities of one million or more people.

What the page shows, as of 29 October 2026:

• the Senate passed the bill on 4 June 2026, 47 ayes to 13 nays;
• the page reports its status as “Passed Senate & Assembly”; and
• it shows no delivery to the governor and no signature or veto.

So, on the official record, this bill has passed the legislature but is not law. If you read that New York has “approved” these changes, check nysenate.gov before you rely on it. New York’s existing programme rules are on our New York page.

South Carolina: S. 256 failed on 20 January 2026

South Carolina remains without a C-PACE law. The General Assembly’s page for S. 256, which would have enacted the “South Carolina Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience Act”, shows it was introduced on 21 January 2025 by Senators Davis and Devine and reported favourably with an amendment by the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry committee on 30 April 2025.

On 20 January 2026, its second reading failed on a roll call of 17 ayes to 27 nays. The page says the bill is currently residing in the Senate. If you own commercial property in South Carolina, C-PACE is not an option today, and the honest answer is to look at other tools.

What this means if you own a building

Jurisdiction	Bill	Status (as of 29 Oct 2026)	What to check next
Vermont	S.327 (Act 128)	Signed 8 June 2026	Has your municipality created a district?
New Mexico	HB 165	Effective 20 May 2026	IRB-financed properties can now be considered
New Hampshire	SB 4 (C-PACER)	Signed February 2025	Has your town opted in?
US Virgin Islands	Bill 36-0248 (Act 9102)	Enacted 9 June 2026	Read the enacted act before planning a project
New York	A5404C / S1335C	Passed both houses; not shown as signed	Watch nysenate.gov
South Carolina	S. 256	Second reading failed 20 Jan 2026	No C-PACE law

Three lessons run through this list. A law is not a programme: in Vermont and New Hampshire, local governments still have to opt in. A passed bill is not a law until it is signed. And every state writes its own rules, so a feature of one state’s law tells you nothing about another’s.

For the wider picture — which states are active and how much has been financed — see our state pages and C-PACE by the numbers.

C-PACE Desk is an advisory and placement service, not a lender and not a programme administrator. If one of these changes might open a project you had written off, tell us about it and we will tell you plainly whether it fits.