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California bills · 2025-2026 Regular Session

California SB 615

Vehicle traction batteries.

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To Governor
  6. Became law

Sponsors

Cosponsors (1)

Summary

Official abstract published by the California legislature· summary

Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to convene the Lithium-Ion Car Battery Recycling Advisory Group to review, and advise the Legislature on, policies pertaining to the recovery and recycling of lithium-ion vehicle batteries sold with motor vehicles in the state. Existing law also requires the advisory group to submit policy recommendations to the Legislature aimed at ensuring that as close to 100% as possible of lithium-ion vehicle batteries in the state are reused or recycled at end of life in a safe and cost-effective manner. Existing law designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with coordinating efforts to attain and maintain ambient air quality standards and to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. Existing state board regulations require certain new motor vehicles to be equipped with specified traction battery labels. This bill would require, commencing July 1, 2028, a battery supplier, as defined, to equip a new vehicle traction battery sold in the state with a permanent label containing only specified information, as provided. The bill would require a remanufacturer to rebrand and relabel a remanufactured vehicle traction battery, as provided. The bill would require each battery supplier and remanufacturer, no later than 90 days after the chaptering of the act, to register with the state board and provide the state board with specified information. The bill would require those entities to update that registration and information annually and upon request of the board, as provided. The bill would require the state board to adopt regulations no later than July 1, 2031, to implement and enforce these provisions and would require the state board to determine the most cost-effective means to accept required electronic submissions, as provided. This bill would require battery suppliers, beginning July 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, to pay the state board a fee sufficient to cover the state board's full personnel, administrative, regulatory, and loan and interest costs related to implementing and enforcing these provisions. The bill would require the state board to create a tiered fee schedule based on each battery supplier's share of total in-state vehicle registrations with vehicle traction batteries 10 years prior, and would exempt establishment of and updates to that schedule from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would establish the Vehicle Traction Battery Recovery Fund (fund) in the State Treasury and would require the state board to deposit all fee moneys into the fund, as specified. Moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, only to implement and enforce these provisions, and to reimburse specified loans and interest. The bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Director of Finance to make a loan from an unspecified fund to the fund to meet regulatory and startup costs of the state board's activities pursuant to these provisions. The state board's duties under the bill would be contingent upon an appropriation for these purposes.

Text versions

Roll-call votes

State vote data last updated Oct 14, 2026, 8:01 AM.

DateVoteResultYour legislators
Aug 31, 2026
Senate		Unfinished Business SB615 Allen et al. ConcurrencepassSet your home in California to see
Aug 30, 2026
House		SB 615 Allen Senate Third Reading By Bauer-KahanpassSet your home in California to see
Aug 29, 2025
House		Do pass as amended.passSet your home in California to see
Jul 14, 2025
House		Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]passSet your home in California to see
Jun 17, 2025
House		Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Natural Resources]passSet your home in California to see
May 29, 2025
Senate		3rd ReadingpassSet your home in California to see
May 23, 2025
Senate		Do pass as amendedpassSet your home in California to see
May 5, 2025
Senate		Placed on suspense filepassSet your home in California to see
Apr 22, 2025
Senate		Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]passSet your home in California to see
Apr 2, 2025
Senate		Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Transportation]passSet your home in California to see

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