Bill Commons

CA SB 501

enacted

Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022: covered batteries.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 501 pass?

Yes. CA SB 501 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-20): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 414, Statutes of 2026.

What is CA SB 501 about?

Existing law, the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, establishes a stewardship program, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, as provided, for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state in an economically efficient and practical manner. The act defines a "covered battery" to mean a device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. Existing law defines a "covered battery" to include a loose battery that is designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. Existing law excludes from the definition of a covered battery a primary battery weighing over 2 kilograms. Existing law defines a "primary battery" for this purpose to mean a nonrechargeable battery, including, but not limited to, alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium metal batteries. Existing law also excludes from the definition of a covered battery a rechargeable battery weighing over 5 kilograms and having a watthour rating of more than 300 watthours. This bill would revise the description of a loose battery, for purposes of the definition of a covered battery, by providing that a key, application, or other locking device provided to the consumer by the producer of the product or battery that is warranted by the producer of the product or battery to serve solely to prevent theft of the battery or tampering by persons other than the consumer and not to inhibit the consumer's ability to remove, replace, or recycle the battery would not prevent a battery from being considered designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. The bill would remove the exclusions from the definition of a covered battery for a primary battery and a rechargeable battery, described above. The bill would categorize all covered batteries as either a small format battery or a medium format battery. The bill would define a "small format battery" to include a rechargeable battery weighing no more than 11 pounds with a rating of no more than 300 watthours and a nonrechargeable battery weighing no more than 4.4 pounds. The bill would define a "medium format battery" to include a rechargeable battery that weighs more than 11 pounds or that has a rating of more than 300 watthours, or both, but that does not weigh more than 25 pounds or have a rating more than 2,000 watthours, and a nonrechargeable battery weighing more than 4.4 pounds but fewer than 25 pounds. The act requires a producer of covered batteries, individually or through a stewardship organization, to develop and implement a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state. The act requires the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for covered batteries in each county, as provided. This bill would instead require the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for small format batteries and medium format batteries, as specified. The act requires a stewardship plan to include, among other things, consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Task Force and coordination with certain entities, including, but not limited to, other program operators, as provided. This bill would require a stewardship plan to include consultation with the department's Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education and Outreach instead of the Environmental Justice Task Force. The bill would require the stewardship to additionally include coordination with California Native American Tribes. The bill would require a stewardship plan to demonstrate that the stewardship organization has adequate financial responsibility and financial controls in place to ensure proper management of funds. The act requires the program operator to retain an independent public accountant to annually audit the accounting books for the program operator. This bill would require the annual audit to be prepared in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's accounting standards codification. The bill would require a program operator to annually demonstrate achievement of minimum recycling rates for rechargeable, nonrechargeable, and primary batteries. This bill would authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control and certain local officers and agencies to enter and inspect any collection site, establishment, or any other place or environment, where hazardous wastes are stored, handled, processed, disposed of, or being treated to recover resources, as a result of the requirements of the act, as specified. The bill would, to ensure compliance with the act, authorize the department to inspect and investigate producers, program operators, stewardship organizations, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, recyclers, and collection sites. The act requires records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 3 years. The act requires all reports and records provided to the department to be provided under penalty of perjury. This bill would require records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 5 years. By expanding the document retention period and by expanding the scope of the act, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Who sponsors CA SB 501?

Allen is the primary sponsor of CA SB 501.

Description

Existing law, the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, establishes a stewardship program, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, as provided, for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state in an economically efficient and practical manner. The act defines a "covered battery" to mean a device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. Existing law defines a "covered battery" to include a loose battery that is designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. Existing law excludes from the definition of a covered battery a primary battery weighing over 2 kilograms. Existing law defines a "primary battery" for this purpose to mean a nonrechargeable battery, including, but not limited to, alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium metal batteries. Existing law also excludes from the definition of a covered battery a rechargeable battery weighing over 5 kilograms and having a watthour rating of more than 300 watthours. This bill would revise the description of a loose battery, for purposes of the definition of a covered battery, by providing that a key, application, or other locking device provided to the consumer by the producer of the product or battery that is warranted by the producer of the product or battery to serve solely to prevent theft of the battery or tampering by persons other than the consumer and not to inhibit the consumer's ability to remove, replace, or recycle the battery would not prevent a battery from being considered designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product with no more than common household tools. The bill would remove the exclusions from the definition of a covered battery for a primary battery and a rechargeable battery, described above. The bill would categorize all covered batteries as either a small format battery or a medium format battery. The bill would define a "small format battery" to include a rechargeable battery weighing no more than 11 pounds with a rating of no more than 300 watthours and a nonrechargeable battery weighing no more than 4.4 pounds. The bill would define a "medium format battery" to include a rechargeable battery that weighs more than 11 pounds or that has a rating of more than 300 watthours, or both, but that does not weigh more than 25 pounds or have a rating more than 2,000 watthours, and a nonrechargeable battery weighing more than 4.4 pounds but fewer than 25 pounds. The act requires a producer of covered batteries, individually or through a stewardship organization, to develop and implement a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries in the state. The act requires the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for covered batteries in each county, as provided. This bill would instead require the stewardship plan to describe how the producer or stewardship organization will provide a certain number of collection sites for small format batteries and medium format batteries, as specified. The act requires a stewardship plan to include, among other things, consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Task Force and coordination with certain entities, including, but not limited to, other program operators, as provided. This bill would require a stewardship plan to include consultation with the department's Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education and Outreach instead of the Environmental Justice Task Force. The bill would require the stewardship to additionally include coordination with California Native American Tribes. The bill would require a stewardship plan to demonstrate that the stewardship organization has adequate financial responsibility and financial controls in place to ensure proper management of funds. The act requires the program operator to retain an independent public accountant to annually audit the accounting books for the program operator. This bill would require the annual audit to be prepared in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's accounting standards codification. The bill would require a program operator to annually demonstrate achievement of minimum recycling rates for rechargeable, nonrechargeable, and primary batteries. This bill would authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control and certain local officers and agencies to enter and inspect any collection site, establishment, or any other place or environment, where hazardous wastes are stored, handled, processed, disposed of, or being treated to recover resources, as a result of the requirements of the act, as specified. The bill would, to ensure compliance with the act, authorize the department to inspect and investigate producers, program operators, stewardship organizations, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, recyclers, and collection sites. The act requires records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 3 years. The act requires all reports and records provided to the department to be provided under penalty of perjury. This bill would require records required by the act to be maintained and accessible to the department for 5 years. By expanding the document retention period and by expanding the scope of the act, the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Introduced
2025-02-19
Latest action
2026-09-20 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 414, Statutes of 2026.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Allenauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-20

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 414, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. 2026-09-20

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. 2026-08-30

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 6 p.m.

  4. 2026-08-25

    Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 10.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  5. 2026-08-25

    Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 5742.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  6. 2026-08-24

    In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  7. 2026-08-24

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  8. 2026-08-24

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 62. Noes 14. Page 6386.) Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  9. 2026-08-17

    Read third time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3

  10. 2026-08-17

    Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-3

  11. 2026-08-13

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 3.) (August 13).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  12. 2026-08-13

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  13. 2026-08-13

    Assembly Rule 63 suspended.

  14. 2026-08-05

    August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  15. 2026-06-30

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 2.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  16. 2026-06-17

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  17. 2026-06-01

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.S & T.M.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  18. 2026-05-04

    Referred to Coms. on E.S & T.M. and NAT. RES.

    referral-committee

  19. 2026-01-27

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  20. 2026-01-27

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 3297.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  21. 2026-01-22

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 3269.) (January 22).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  22. 2026-01-22

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  23. 2026-01-21

    Set for hearing January 22.

  24. 2026-01-20

    January 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  25. 2026-01-14

    Set for hearing January 20.

  26. 2026-01-14

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  27. 2026-01-13

    From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 3212.) (January 13).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  28. 2026-01-07

    Set for hearing January 13.

  29. 2026-01-05

    Withdrawn from committee.

    withdrawal

  30. 2026-01-05

    Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

    referral-committee

  31. 2026-01-05

    Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

    referral-committee

  32. 2026-01-05

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  33. 2025-05-23

    May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  34. 2025-05-16

    Set for hearing May 23.

  35. 2025-05-05

    May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  36. 2025-04-25

    Set for hearing May 5.

  37. 2025-04-23

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 835.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  38. 2025-04-08

    Set for hearing April 22.

  39. 2025-04-07

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  40. 2025-04-03

    From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 634.) (April 2).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  41. 2025-03-24

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  42. 2025-03-11

    Set for hearing April 2.

  43. 2025-02-26

    Referred to Coms. on E.Q. and JUD.

    referral-committee

  44. 2025-02-20

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.

  45. 2025-02-19

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction,reading-1,referral-committee

Versions

  • 02/19/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-19Compare
  • 03/24/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-03-24Compare
  • 04/07/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-04-07Compare
  • 01/05/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-01-05Compare
  • 01/14/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-01-14Compare
  • 06/01/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-06-01Compare
  • 08/17/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-17Compare
  • 08/27/26 - Enrolled — 2026-08-27Compare
  • SB501Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary]

    2025-04-02 · pass · 6-0

    Member-level votes (8)
    • Pérez: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Dahle: other
    • Valladares: other

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2025-04-22 · pass · 11-0

    Member-level votes (13)
    • Allen: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Valladares: other
    • Niello: other

  • Placed on suspense file

    2025-05-05 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Richardson: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Wahab: yes

  • Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-01-13 · pass · 5-2

    Member-level votes (8)
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Reyes: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Valladares: no
    • Dahle: no
    • Hurtado: other

  • Placed on suspense file

    2026-01-20 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Wahab: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Richardson: yes

  • Do pass

    2026-01-22 · pass · 5-2

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Richardson: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: no
    • Seyarto: no

  • 3rd Reading

    2026-01-27 · pass · 30-10

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Durazo: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Stern: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Becker: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Reyes: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: no
    • Seyarto: no
    • Dahle: no
    • Grove: no
    • Jones: no
    • Niello: no
    • Alvarado-Gil: no
    • Choi: no
    • Valladares: no
    • Strickland: no

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Natural Resources]

    2026-06-16 · pass · 5-1

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Connolly: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Ellis: no
    • Castillo: other

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-06-29 · pass · 10-2

    Member-level votes (14)
    • Bryan: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Macedo: no
    • Ellis: no
    • Muratsuchi: other
    • Alanis: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB501

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-21T17:04:25.055985Z

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