HF1426

Purpose

• Establish a stewardship program for the end-of-life management of circuit boards, batteries, and electrical products.
• Prohibit the use of mercury in batteries.
• Provide authority for rulemaking to implement and oversee the program.
• Allocate funding to support the program.
• Update and reorganize existing environmental laws by amending and repealing various statutes to fit the new framework.

Main Provisions

• Creates an electronics product stewardship program aimed at financing and organizing the collection, recycling, and disposal of circuit boards, batteries, and other electrical products.
• Bans mercury in batteries.
• Grants rulemaking authority to implement and administer the program, including how it's funded and managed.
• Appropriates money to support the program’s development, administration, and activities.
• Amends specific Minnesota Statutes (several sections across 115.071, 115A.121, 115A.554, 116.92, and related areas) to reflect the new program and its requirements.
• Repeals a large number of existing statutory provisions related to environmental regulation and administration (listed sections include numerous subdivisions in 115A, 115A.1310 through 115A.1330, 115A.9155, 115A.9157, 115A.961, and 325E.125 series), effectively replacing them with the new framework.
• Integrates provisions for enforcement, compliance, and administration under the updated law.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Replaces or supersedes many older environmental provisions with a new, centralized stewardship approach for electronics-related products.
• Removes or restructures numerous existing sections related to the management and regulation of environmental programs, shifting to the new program structure and governance.
• Clarifies and expands enforcement tools under environmental law (see Enforcement and Remedies section).

Enforcement and Remedies

• Maintains and clarifies enforcement options for environmental regulations, including:
  • Criminal prosecution,
  • Civil penalties,
  • Injunctions or other court-ordered actions to compel compliance or stop improper activity.
• Aligns enforcement with the provisions of the referenced statutes and rules, enabling swift action to address pollution or noncompliance.

Implementation and Funding

• Rules and guidelines will be established to implement the stewardship program, oversee compliance, and determine funding mechanisms.
• Money is appropriated to support program creation, operation, and oversight.

Relevant Terms - stewardship program - circuit boards - batteries - electrical products - mercury - rulemaking - appropriation - Minnesota Statutes - environmental law - enforcement - criminal penalties - civil penalties - injunction - pollution prevention - repeal - amendments - environmental regulation - administration - compliance