# Maine LD 474: An Act to Establish a Stewardship Program for Primary and Rechargeable Batteries Maine LD 474, An Act to Establish a Stewardship Program for Primary and Rechargeable Batteries, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Denise Tepler (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-03 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 608); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD474-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 474 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Establish a Stewardship Program for Primary and Rechargeable Batteries - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-02-05 - Last action: 2026-04-03, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 608 - Sponsor: Denise Tepler (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS, ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS - PLANNING - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 9 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Legal protections and waivers for producers: benefit, low. Program organizers get limited antitrust protection for actions needed to run the program. Information marked proprietary stays confidential. A producer can get a waiver from this law if it maintains a compliant system under section 2165; full compliance here exempts the producer from section 2165… - Producers must join program and label batteries: cost, medium. Starting 180 days after the first plan approval, producers may not sell covered batteries here unless they participate in an approved stewardship program. Two years after that first approval, many covered batteries must be marked with the producer name, battery chemistry, and a “do not trash” notic… - Annual reporting, audits, and oversight: cost, low. Starting the year after a program launches, the operator must file a public report by May 1 each year and keep records for at least five years. From 2027 through 2030, reports must list products with embedded batteries; that list rule ends April 1, 2030. Producers in a program must give the operato… - Getting a stewardship plan approved: cost, low. Producers or a stewardship group must file a plan within six months after the department’s rules take effect. Plans last up to five years and must list participants, the collection network, goals, financing, and staffing. The department reviews plans in 120 days, with a 60‑day window for fixes and… - Free, safer battery drop-off statewide: mixed, medium. You can drop off covered batteries for free. Programs must give at least one permanent site within 15 miles for 95% of residents, one site in every county, and more sites in cities within a year of starting. Sites can only take medium-format or damaged batteries where trained staff and state safety… - Support and rules for drop-off sites: mixed, medium. Program operators must give approved sites the right containers, signs, and staff training, and reimburse reasonable costs. If your store, town, or facility meets plan rules, the operator must approve you within 90 days. The operator can warn, suspend, or remove a site that breaks plan rules or cre… - $10 deposit on new lead-acid batteries: mixed, low. If you buy a new lead-acid battery and do not trade in a used one, the store charges a $10 deposit per battery. You get the $10 back if you return a used battery within 30 days. Stores must hold deposits in trust; unclaimed deposits from the prior year go to the retailer each July 1. If the battery… - Stronger safe-disposal rules for batteries: mixed, low. Manufacturers of dry‑cell mercuric oxide or rechargeable batteries must run and fund proper collection, transport, and processing and inform buyers about disposal rules. People working for government, industrial, communications, or medical facilities may not throw these batteries away outside an ap… - Program fund, fees, and investments: mixed, low. The operator must keep producer payments in a separate stewardship fund and use it only for program admin and audits, department fees, reimbursements to sites, and approved education or infrastructure. Before spending on education or infrastructure, the operator submits a proposal; the department d… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Denise Tepler (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Joseph Martin (Republican), Senate ## Actions (8) - 2026-04-03: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 608 - 2026-03-30: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2026-03-26: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2026-03-25: CONSENT CALENDAR - FIRST DAYUnder suspension of the rules CONSENT CALENDAR - SECOND DAY.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (S-565).In concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2026-03-24: Report READ and ACCEPTED.Bill READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (S-565) READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED BY Committee Amendment "A" (S-565).Ordered sent down forthwith for concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-25: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 800. (Senate) - 2025-03-21: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (Senate) - 2025-02-05: Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 5, 2025 and REFERRED to the Committee on ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 (Senate) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (S-565), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=3&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (S-565), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=3&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0214&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD474-132 (as of 2026-10-17).