No. HB 1067
Filed under Environment & Water.
Battery Collection and Disposal; Repeals provisions relating to battery requirements for consumers, manufacturers, & sellers; prohibits producers or retailers from selling, offering, or distributing any battery or battery containing product unless certain conditions are met; provides requirements for battery stewardship organizations regarding collection & disposal of batteries & battery containing products; requires DEP to take certain actions regarding plans & data for such collection & disposal; prohibits certain point-of-sale fees; authorizes fee-based battery collection & mail-back service for covered batteries; provides requirements for disposal of batteries beginning on specified date; provides exemption from liability for producers, retailers, & battery stewardship organizations; provides for penalties & civil actions.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDStarting January 1, 2028, producers and retailers cannot sell any battery or battery-containing product in Florida unless the producer belongs to a state-approved battery stewardship organization that funds and runs statewide collection.
Every battery must carry a producer-identification mark by 2028, plus a chemistry and no-household-disposal warning by 2029; tiny batteries under half an inch are exempt from both marking rules.
From 2028 on, anyone who throws a covered battery in the trash, recycling bin, or a fire risks a $1,000 civil penalty for each violation; batteries must go to a collection site instead.
Stewardship organizations must collect all covered batteries for free and cover the costs themselves, but the law bars charging shoppers a separate point-of-sale recycling fee at checkout.
AIBeginning January 1, 2028, producers and retailers cannot sell, offer, or distribute any covered battery or battery-containing product in Florida unless the producer belongs to a stewardship organization operating under a plan the department has approved.
AIFrom 2028 on, a covered battery may be thrown away only by delivery to a collection site or event under an approved stewardship plan. Mixing, landfilling, or burning a covered battery becomes a separate violation, even as ordinary household trash.
AIBy 2028 every covered battery must be marked with an identification of its producer, and by 2029 with its chemistry and a warning against household disposal; batteries under half an inch are exempt from both marking rules.
AIProducers, retailers, and stewardship organizations cannot add a separate line-item fee at checkout to cover the cost of running the required battery collection and recycling system.
AIA producer, retailer, or stewardship organization cannot be held liable under antitrust or unfair-trade-practices law for conduct that complies with a battery stewardship plan the department has approved.
AIA stewardship organization may sue a producer who sells covered batteries outside any approved plan, recovering damages plus attorney fees once its added collection and disposal costs exceed $1,000.
AIKnowingly filing a false material statement to the department about a battery stewardship plan becomes a third-degree felony, on top of the $1,000-per-violation civil penalty that applies generally.
AIThe bill repeals section 403.7192, Florida Statutes, the prior law governing battery requirements for consumers, manufacturers, and sellers, and replaces it with the new stewardship system created here.