Section 42420.1.
Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42420.1.
in effectFor purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)
“Brand” means a trademark, including both a registered trademark and an unregistered trademark, a logo, a name, a symbol, a word, an identifier, or a traceable mark that identifies a covered battery and identifies the owner or licensee of the brand.
(b)
“Collection site” means a permanent or temporary location at which covered batteries are collected and prepared for transport in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(c)
“Consumer” means an owner of a covered battery, including a person, business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit organization, or
governmental entity, and includes the ultimate purchaser, owner, or lessee of a covered battery, who is not, as to that covered battery, the distributor, importer, producer, recycler, retailer, or stewardship organization.
(d)
(1)
“Covered battery” means a device consisting of one or more electrically connected electrochemical cells designed to receive, store, and deliver electric energy. A covered battery includes a battery that is any of the following:
(A)
A loose battery that is either sold separately from a product or that is designed to be easily removed from a product by the user of the product, with no more than common household tools.
(B)
A battery that is packed with, but not installed in, the product that the battery is intended to power, when the product is offered for sale by the
producer.
(2)
“Covered battery” does not include any of the following:
(A)
A primary battery weighing over two kilograms. For purposes of this subparagraph, “primary battery” means a nonrechargeable battery, including, but not limited to, alkaline, carbon-zinc, and lithium metal batteries.
(B)
A rechargeable battery weighing over five kilograms and having a Watt-hour rating of more than 300 Watt-hours.
(C)
A lead-acid battery, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 42440.
(D)
(i)
A battery contained in a motor vehicle. For purposes of this subparagraph, “motor vehicle” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code.
(ii)
Notwithstanding any other law, the exclusion in clause (i) does not apply to a battery contained in any of the following:
(I)
A motorized scooter.
(II)
A motorized skateboard.
(III)
A motorized hoverboard.
(IV)
A device intended to propel or move upon a highway only one individual person or property.
(E)
A fuel cell electrical generating facility. For purposes of this subparagraph, “fuel cell electrical generating facility” has the same meaning as “eligible fuel cell electrical generating facility,” as defined in Section 2827.10 of the Public Utilities Code.
(F)
(i)
A Class I device as defined in Section 360c of Title 21 of the United States Code, and either of the following applies:
(I)
It is a device described in Section 414.202 of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(II)
Either of the following applies:
(ia)
The device is predominantly used in a health care setting by a provider.
(ib)
The device is predominantly prescribed by a health care provider.
(ii)
A Class II or Class III device as defined in Section 360c of Title 21 of the United States Code.
(G)
A battery that has been recalled.
(e)
“Department” means the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery or a successor agency.
(f)
“Distributor” means a company that has a contractual relationship with one or more producers to market and sell covered batteries to retailers.
(g)
“Electrochemical cell” means a system consisting of an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte, plus electrical or mechanical connections needed to allow the cell to deliver or receive electric energy.
(h)
“Importer” means either of the following:
(1)
A person qualifying as an importer of record for purposes of Section 1484(a)(2)(B) of Title 19 of the United States Code with regard to the import of a covered battery that is sold, distributed for sale, or
offered for sale in or into the state that was manufactured or assembled by a company outside of the United States.
(2)
A person importing into the state for sale, distributing for sale, or offering for sale in the state a covered battery that was manufactured or assembled by a company physically located outside of the state.
(i)
“Person” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 40170.
(j)
(1)
“Producer” means a person who manufactures a covered battery and who owns or is the licensee of the brand or trademark under which that covered battery is sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in or into the state.
(2)
If there is no person in the state who is the producer for purposes of paragraph (1), the producer of the
covered battery is the owner of a brand or trademark or, if the owner is not in the state, the exclusive licensee of a brand or trademark under which the covered battery is sold, imported for sale, offered for sale, or distributed for sale in or into the state. For purposes of this subdivision, an exclusive licensee is a person holding the exclusive right to use a trademark or brand in the state in connection with the manufacture, sale, or distribution for sale in or into the state of the covered battery.
(3)
If there is no person in the state who is the producer for purposes of paragraph (1) or (2), the producer of the covered battery is the person who sells, offers for sale, or is the importer or distributor of the covered battery in or into the state for sale in or into the state.
(4)
For purposes of this chapter, the sale of a covered battery shall be deemed to occur in the
state if the covered battery is delivered to the purchaser in the state.
(5)
“Producer” does not include an admitted insurer possessing a certificate of authority from the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to Section 700 of the Insurance Code, nor does it apply to a placement of insurance that was made in full compliance with Section 1765.1 or 1765.2 of the Insurance Code.
(k)
“Program operator” means a producer, or a stewardship organization on behalf of a group of producers, that is responsible for implementing a stewardship program in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(l)
(1)
“Rechargeable battery” means a battery that contains one or more voltaic or galvanic cells, electrically connected to produce electric energy, and that is designed to be recharged.
(2)
“Rechargeable battery” does not include either of the following:
(A)
A battery that contains electrolytes as a free liquid.
(B)
A battery that employs lead-acid technology, unless that battery is sealed and contains no free liquid electrolytes.
(m)
“Recycler” means a person who changes the physical or chemical composition of covered batteries.
(n)
“Recycling” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 25121.1 of the Health and Safety Code. “Recycling” does not include any of the following:
(1)
Combustion.
(2)
Incineration.
(3)
Energy generation.
(4)
Fuel production.
(5)
Beneficial reuse in the construction and operation of a solid waste landfill, including use of alternative daily cover.
(6)
Other forms of disposal, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 40192.
(o)
“Recycling efficiency rate” means the ratio of the weight of covered battery components recycled by a program operator from covered batteries to the weight of those covered batteries collected by the program operator.
(p)
“Retailer” means a person who sells or offers for sale covered batteries in or into the state to a person through any means, including, but not limited to, sales
outlets, catalogs, the telephone, the internet, or any electronic means.
(q)
“Stewardship organization” means an organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(3)) that is established by a group of producers in accordance with this chapter to develop and implement a stewardship program.
(r)
“Stewardship plan” or “plan” means a plan developed by a program operator pursuant to this chapter for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of covered batteries.
(s)
“Stewardship program” means a program established by a program operator pursuant to this chapter for the free at drop off, convenient, and safe collection, transportation, recycling, and otherwise proper management of covered
batteries.
References
referencesCal. Vehicle Code - VEH § 415.
referencesCal. Public Utilities Code - PUC § 2827.10.
referencesCal. Insurance Code - INS § 700.
referencesCal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 25121.1.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 42440.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 414.202.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 1484.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 40170.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 1765.1.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 40192.
referencesCal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 501.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026