# 119-hr-4785: Ethics in Energy Act of 2025

119-hr-4785, Ethics in Energy Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14] (D-FL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4785
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4785
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ethics in Energy Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-29
- Sponsor: Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14] (D-FL)
- Cosponsors: 12
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Stops utilities from billing customers for political influence activities.** The Ethics in Energy Act of 2025 would bar covered electric and major natural gas utilities from recovering payments tied to lobbying, political advertising, trade association dues, and other efforts to influence government or public opinion. It would also force detailed public reporting and create scaled penalties and rebates to keep those costs off ratepayers. - Households and ratepayers: Would no longer be charged for utilities' political influence expenses and could receive rebates for improper past recoveries. - Covered utilities and affiliates: Would face new annual, itemized reporting rules with unredacted billing and payee details and strict accounting changes. Violations trigger penalties that start at at least the recovered amount and rise with the size of the expense, with a cap of up to 20 times the expense. - Federal regulators and enforcement: Would get new duties to rewrite accounting rules and enforce the ban within 18 months, and half of collected penalties would fund stronger Commission enforcement while half funds ratepayer rebates.

## Cosponsors (12)

- Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7] (D-CA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2025-07-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Levin, Mike [D-CA-49] (D-CA), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2025-08-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Friedman, Laura [D-CA-30] (D-CA), 2025-08-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA), 2025-09-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7] (D-VA), 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Fines and rebates when utilities overcharge: benefit, medium. After rules are in place, if a covered utility charges customers for a covered political expense, FERC could fine it. For expenses under $1 million, the fine would be at least the same amount. For $1 million to $10 million, at least double. For over $10 million, at least triple. Any fine could not…
- Stop utility charges for political spending: benefit, medium. FERC would have 18 months to ban covered utilities from billing customers for political influence costs. Accounting rules would be changed so these costs go in accounts that are not recoverable in rates. Political influence costs would include spending to sway laws, rules, elections, public opinion…
- Yearly spending reports from big utilities: benefit, medium. Within 18 months and then every year, each covered utility would file an itemized report. It would list billing amounts and dates, who was paid, third‑party vendors, job titles, the part of salaries tied to this work, account codes, and the purpose. The dollar threshold for reporting affiliate deal…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4785 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4785)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4785 (as of 2026-04-21).