Overview
On September 24, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the 2027 Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Emergency Regulations. The regulations become effective on January 1, 2027, and expire on January 2, 2029.
The Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) proposed emergency regulations pursuant to Public Resources Code (PRC) section 42475.2. PRC section 42464(b)(3) requires CalRecycle to establish a covered battery-embedded waste recycling fee based on the reasonable regulatory costs to administer covered electronic waste (CEW) recycling.
Affected Regulatory Code Sections
CalRecycle proposed emergency regulations to amend Title 14, California Code of Regulations (CCR), Division 7, Chapter 8.2, section 18660.40.
Current Status
The emergency regulations were approved by OAL effective January 1, 2027.
The Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Emergency Regulations were submitted to OAL on September 17, 2026, beginning the 10-calendar day emergency rulemaking process. The 5-calendar day public comment period began on September 17, 2026, and ended on September 22, 2026.
Current Documents
- Office of Administrative Law Approval Document. The Office of Administrative Law’s official approval of the emergency regulations. This document is available for public inspection during normal business hours at CalRecycle, 1001 ‘I’ Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. To schedule a time to inspect these documents, please contact Melissa Dubina at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
- Office of Administrative Law Approved Regulation Text. An accessible version of the final regulation text as approved by the Office of Administrative law.
- Emergency Rulemaking Action. The notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations, and Finding of Emergency.
- Proposed Regulation Text. The express language that shows any proposed adoption, amendment, or deletion to the regulations.
- Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement (STD 399) and STD 399 Supplemental information. Unsigned copy of the Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement form and supporting documentation. The original version with signature approval is on file.
- Documents Relied Upon. All technical, theoretical, and empirical studies, reports, or similar documents relied upon in developing the proposed regulations.
-
- Attachment 1: Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement (STD 399)
-
- Attachment 2: STD 399 Supplemental Information
-
- Attachment 3: Request for Approval
-
- Attachment 4: Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Methodology
-
- Attachment 7: Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Comment Period, submitted June 23, 2026
-
- Attachment 8: Consumer Technology Association, Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Comment Period, submitted June 24, 2026
-
- Attachment 9: Information Technology Industry Council, Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Comment Period, submitted June 29, 2026
-
- Attachment 10: Alexis Morris, Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Informal Rulemaking Comment Period, submitted July 23, 2026
-
- Attachment 11: Consumer Technology Association, Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Informal Rulemaking Comment Period, submitted July 24, 2026
-
- Attachment 12: California: 2020 Census, United States Census Bureau, accessed February 28, 2025
-
- Attachment 15: State of California – Civil Service Pay Scale, accessed (June 2, 2025)
-
- Attachment 16: Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee – 2027 Fee Update Workshop Presentation (presented June 17, 2026)
-
All rulemaking documents listed on this webpage are either available by submitting a PRA request online on the California Public Records Act Request webpage, or by emailing Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov. These documents are also available for public inspection during normal business hours at CalRecycle, 1001 “I” Street, 24th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. To schedule a time to inspect these documents, please contact Melissa Dubina at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
Input from Interested Parties
Interested parties had the opportunity to provide input during the public comment period, which commenced on September 17, 2026, when the emergency regulations were posted on OAL’s website. The public comment period closed on September 22, 2026.
History
On June 17, 2026, CalRecycle hosted an informal public workshop to gather feedback on the proposed covered battery-embedded waste recycling fee to take effect on January 1, 2027.
At the workshop, CalRecycle presented its recommendation to lower the maximum fee cap from $15 while maintaining the fee at 1.5% of the retail sales price. The informal comment period ended on June 25, 2026.
On July 17, 2026, CalRecycle announced the proposed fee of 1.5% with a $1 maximum cap that will take effect January 1, 2027. An additional informal comment period was provided, which ended on July 24, 2026.
On September 17, 2026, CalRecycle initiated a 5-calendar day written comment period for the proposed emergency regulations. The public comment period commenced on September 17, 2026, when the emergency regulations were posted on OAL’s website. The public comment period closed on September 22, 2026.
During the public comment period, interested parties could submit comments in the following ways:
Written comments were sent to OAL and CalRecycle and received before the close of the public comment period on September 22, 2026.
Comments on the proposed emergency regulations were submitted to OAL via email to Staff@oal.ca.gov, by fax to (916) 323-6826, or by mail to:
OAL Reference Attorney
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1250
Sacramento, California 95814
When a comment was submitted to OAL, a copy of the comment was also submitted to CalRecycle in one of the following ways:
- CalRecycle’s public comment portal.
- or by mail to:
Melissa Dubina
Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, Regulations Unit
1001 ‘I’ Street, MS-24B
Sacramento, CA 95814
OAL confirmed that CalRecycle received the comment before considering it. The comment must have stated that it was about the emergency regulation currently under OAL review and included the topic of the emergency regulations.
OAL approved the emergency regulations on September 24, 2026.
Contact
For more information on the Covered Battery-Embedded Waste Recycling Fee Emergency Regulations, please contact Melissa Dubina at Regulations@calrecycle.ca.gov.
Subscribe to the Proposed Regulations Listserv to receive emails regarding rulemaking developments.
For more information regarding the Covered Battery-Embedded Products Program, please visit Covered Battery-Embedded Products Webpage.
Subscribe to the E-Waste listserv to receive emails regarding this program.