Sponsors (2)
Official title: To support the recycling and recovery of lithium-ion batteries.
Introduced July 9, 2026 by Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Last progress July 9, 2026
The bill reduces fire and pollution risk and clarifies rules for lithium‑ion battery storage and recycling by aligning statute with current and future CFR rules, but it raises compliance, permitting, and enforcement burdens—especially for small and rural recyclers—and creates some future regulatory uncertainty that could raise costs for businesses and consumers.
Destination facilities and battery handlers (and the communities near them) will have clearer, consistent, codified storage and transport rules aligned with current CFR text, reducing the risk of lithium‑ion battery fires and hazardous releases during storage and handling.
Aligning destination facilities with large‑quantity handler requirements and modernized rules should improve recycling pathways and safe recycling rates for lithium‑ion batteries and can reduce local cleanup and emergency‑response costs for taxpayers and nearby residents.
A substantive statutory definition of "lithium‑ion battery" plus codified references to the applicable regulatory text reduces regulatory ambiguity, lowering compliance uncertainty for businesses and regulators.
Small recyclers, collectors, and utilities will face higher compliance costs (training, containment, recordkeeping) to meet large‑quantity handler–level requirements, costs that may be passed on to consumers as higher recycling or disposal fees.
Smaller or rural recycling operations could incur permitting and operational burdens that slow collection, reduce local access to recycling, or increase fees for rural communities.
New definitions and cross‑references could be interpreted inconsistently, increasing enforcement complexity and administrative burden for state and local regulators.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires destination facilities storing end-of-life lithium‑ion batteries to follow specified Universal Waste handler and storage rules and updates a legal citation to 40 C.F.R. part 273.
Sets updated storage and regulatory requirements for end-of-life lithium‑ion batteries held at recycling destination facilities and modernizes a statutory citation to point to current federal regulations. It requires destination facilities that store spent lithium‑ion batteries prior to recycling to follow specific Universal Waste provisions applicable to large-quantity handlers and to meet storage requirements that would apply if the batteries were not being stored prior to recycling. Also replaces an outdated Federal Register citation in existing law with a reference to 40 C.F.R. part 273 (or successor regulations), ensuring the statutory cross-reference aligns with the current codified regulations for collection, storage, and transport of used rechargeable batteries and battery-containing products.