New Hampshire HB 1602: creating a safe battery recycling stewardship program.

Bill Text

HB 1602-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

19Feb2026... 0405h

26Mar2026... 1278h

2026 SESSION

 26-3191.0

 04/09

HOUSE BILL 1602-FN

AN ACT creating a safe battery recycling stewardship program.

SPONSORS: Rep. Ebel, Merr. 7; Rep. Burroughs, Carr. 2; Rep. Spier, Hills. 6; Rep. Thackston, Ches. 12; Rep. J. Aron, Sull. 4; Rep. Barbour, Hills. 35; Rep. Bixby, Straf. 13; Rep. Creighton, Hills. 30; Rep. Maggiore, Rock. 23; Sen. Rosenwald, Dist 13; Sen. Ricciardi, Dist 9; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Watters, Dist 4

COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture

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ANALYSIS

 This bill establishes a statewide battery stewardship program that requires safe collection, recycling, and management of covered batteries and battery-containing products, administered through producer participation and oversight by the department of environmental services.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

19Feb2026... 0405h

26Mar2026... 1278h 26-3191.0

 04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT creating a safe battery recycling stewardship program.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 New Subdivision; Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Stewardship. Amend RSA 149-M by inserting after section 64 the following new subdivision:

Safe Battery Collection and Recycling Stewardship

 149-M:65 Definitions; Stewardship Program Established.

 I. In this subdivision:

 (a) "Battery-containing product" means a product that contains or is packaged with a rechargeable or primary battery that qualifies as a covered battery.

 (b) "Battery material refining" means refining end-of-life batteries or battery materials back to usable battery materials suitable for reintroduction into the battery supply chain or for other beneficial manufacturing applications.

 (c) "Battery recycler" means an entity or facility that abides by all applicable federal, state, local, and jurisdictional laws and performs either or both materials recovery and battery material refining.

 (d) "Battery stewardship organization" means a producer that directly implements a battery stewardship plan required under this subdivision, or one or more third-party entities designated by a group of producers to implement such plan.

 (e) "Collection rate" means the percentage, by weight, of covered batteries collected by a battery stewardship organization, calculated by dividing the total weight of primary and rechargeable batteries collected during the previous calendar year by the average annual weight of such batteries estimated to have been sold in New Hampshire by all producers participating in the approved plan during the prior 3 calendar years.

 (f) "Covered battery" means a portable battery or a medium format battery. This does not include:

 (1) Batteries contained in a medical device, as defined in 21 U.S.C. section 321(h), as it existed as of the effective date of this section, not designed and marketed for sale or resale principally to consumers for personal use;

 (2) Batteries that contain an electrolyte as a free liquid;

 (3) Lead-acid batteries weighing more than 11 pounds;

 (4) Batteries in a battery-containing product that are not intended or designed to be easily removable from the battery-containing product;

 (5) Batteries that are being recalled for safety reasons; and

 (6) Batteries designed to power a motor vehicle, part of a motor vehicle, or a component part of a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle.

 (g) "Damaged and defective batteries" means batteries identified by the producer as defective for safety reasons, or that pose a risk of heat, fire, or short circuit, as described in 49 C.F.R. section 173.185(f) as of January 1, 2023, or as updated by department rule to align with federal standards.

 (h) "Department" means the New Hampshire department of environmental services.

 (i) “Easily removable" means designed by the manufacturer to be removed by the user

with commonly available household tools.

 (j) "Environmentally sound management practices" means practices that:

 (1) Comply with all applicable laws and rules protecting workers, public health, and

the environment;

 (2) Provide for adequate recordkeeping, tracking, and documenting of material

disposition; and

 (3) Include comprehensive liability coverage for a battery stewardship organization, including environmental liability coverage that is commercially practicable.

 (k) "M