An Act To Create A Stewardship Program For Electronic Smoking Devices And Related Products

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Art Bell and 6 co-sponsors

The bill creates a producer-funded stewardship program requiring electronic smoking device makers to submit end‑of‑life plans to DEP for oversight and funding.

Signed by Governor

#electronicsmokingdevices #recycling #wastes

Summary — LD 1519: “An Act To Create A Stewardship Program for Electronic Smoking Devices and Related Products”

Status and key dates
- Bill number: LD 1519. Introduced: April 8, 2025.
- Current status: CARRIED OVER, in the same posture, to any special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature (per Joint Order SP 800).
- If enacted, producers must submit stewardship plans to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on or before November 1, 2026.

Purpose and intent
- Establish a producer-funded stewardship program to ensure the collection, management and proper end-of-life handling of electronic smoking devices (ESDs) and related products (e.g., e‑cigarettes, vape devices and components). The goal is to reduce waste, prevent improper disposal, and shift responsibility for post‑consumer management to producers, individually or through a stewardship organization.

Key provisions
- Producers of electronic smoking devices must, individually or via a stewardship organization, submit to the DEP a plan for managing unwanted devices sold by that producer at end-of-life. (Plan content requirements are set in the bill; the fiscal note references the submission requirement and DEP oversight.)
- The DEP will oversee and approve stewardship plans and administer the program.
- Administrative costs for DEP oversight are to be funded by annual administrative fees collected from stewardship program participants; the bill (as analyzed in the fiscal note) caps those department administrative fees at $100,000 per year.

Fiscal impact (from legislative fiscal notes)
- FY 2025‑26: One-time General Fund appropriation of $109,480 to fund an Environmental Specialist III position and associated startup costs to begin DEP duties before fee revenue begins. The department indicates early work is required in FY 2025‑26.
- Beginning FY 2026‑27: ongoing Other Special Revenue Funds allocations of $121,474 annually to authorize DEP expenditures; anticipated annual fee revenue from the stewardship program is $100,000 (per fiscal note), so a shortfall may require use of existing resources until fee levels or authorizations change.
- A subsequent fiscal note for a Senate amendment states “No fiscal impact” (indicating the amendment may alter the fiscal outcome).

Who is affected
- Primary: producers/manufacturers/importers/brand owners of electronic smoking devices (responsible for submitting and funding stewardship plans).
- DEP: new oversight responsibilities and related staffing.
- Indirect: retailers, collection/recycling operators, municipal waste systems, and consumers (through potential producer‑funded collection infrastructure or fees embedded in product costs).

Procedural/next steps
- The bill has been amended in committee (Committee Amendment H‑412) and by the Senate (S‑292) and was passed to be engrossed; however, its enactment is pending and it has been carried over to the next session. If enacted, producers will have until Nov. 1, 2026 to submit stewardship plans and DEP will implement oversight funded by program fees (subject to the stated fee cap).