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HOUSE BILL 310
57TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 2025
INTRODUCED BY
Kristina Ortez
AN ACT
RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; ENACTING THE PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE
END-OF-LIFE MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERIES ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be
cited as the "Promoting Responsible End-of-Life Management of
Electric Vehicle Batteries Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the
Promoting Responsible End-of-Life Management of Electric
Vehicle Batteries Act:
A. "auto recycler" means a person engaged in New
Mexico in an established business that includes acquiring
vehicles that are required to be registered pursuant to the
Motor Vehicle Code for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking,
shredding, compacting, crushing or otherwise destroying
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vehicles for reclaimable parts or scrap material to sell;
B. "battery" means a device consisting of one or
more electrically connected electrochemical cells that is
designed to receive, store and deliver electric energy;
C. "battery management hierarchy" means the
preference for auto recyclers, secondary handlers, secondary
users or battery providers to first strive to reuse, repair or
remanufacture batteries when possible and cost-effective before
sending end-of-life batteries for recycling;
D. "battery provider" means:
(1) a person that initially sells, offers for
sale or distributes a propulsion battery or a vehicle
containing a propulsion battery in or into New Mexico,
including vehicle manufacturers licensed pursuant to applicable
state codes or propulsion battery manufacturers that distribute
propulsion batteries under their own name or brand;
(2) the owner or licensee of a brand or
trademark under which a propulsion battery is sold or
distributed in or into New Mexico, including a licensee with
the exclusive right to use the trademark or brand in connection
with the distribution or sale of propulsion batteries;
(3) if no person meets the criteria set forth
in Paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection, a battery provider
is the person that imports the propulsion battery into the
state for sale, distribution or installation; and
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(4) if no other person meets the criteria set
forth in Paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection, the
distributor, retailer, dealer or wholesaler that sells or
distributes the propulsion battery in or into New Mexico.
The sale of a propulsion battery is considered to occur in
New Mexico if the battery, or the vehicle containing the
battery, is delivered to a licensed dealer or directly to the
consumer in New Mexico;
E. "battery state of health" means a figure of
merit, measured in kilowatt-hours or percentage of remaining
kilowatt-hours as compared to its initial capacity, comparing
the propulsion battery's remaining energy retention capacity to
its original specifications when it was new;
F. "commercial hauler" means a person transporting
solid waste for hire by whatever means for the purpose of
transferring, processing, storing or disposing of the solid
waste in a solid waste facility, except that "commercial
hauler" does not include a person transporting solid waste
generated on the person's residential or business premises for
the purpose of disposing of it in a solid waste facility;
G. "department" means the department of
environment;
H. "end-of-life" means the stage at which a
propulsion battery is no longer suitable for powering a vehicle
and will be evaluated by a secondary handler or secondary user
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for reuse, remanufacture, repair, repurpose or recycling;
I. "propulsion battery" means a battery with the
primary intended purpose of supplying power to propel an
electric or hybrid vehicle;
J. "remanufacture" means a repair or modification
to a propulsion battery that results in the complete battery,
or any battery modules or battery cells in the propulsion
battery, being used for the same purpose or application for
which the battery was originally designed;
K. "repurpose" means the use of a propulsion
battery or any battery modules or battery cells in the
propulsion battery to store and supply electricity in a manner
other than its primary intended purpose;
L. "reuse" means the use of a propulsion battery in
another vehicle from the same manufacturer, which does not
require modification to the battery;
M. "secondary handler" means an entity that takes
possession of a propulsion battery:
(1) to sort, reuse, repair or remanufacture;
or
(2) to prepare the battery for:
(a) repurposing by a secondary user; or
(b) end-of-life management by a
specialized battery recycler;
N. "secondary user" means an entity that repurposes
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a propulsion battery;
O. "specialized battery recycler" means an entity
or facility that is authorized by the department or an
equivalent agency in another state to:
(1) extract and separate end-of-life
propulsion battery elements that include:
(a) intermediate fraction from the
thermal or mechanical treatment of waste batteries; and
(b) components, including lithium
compounds, cobalt, nickel, copper, aluminum, iron, manganese
and graphite, and send the material for further processing or
refining prior to sending them to another specialized battery
recycler; or
(2) refine end-of-life propulsion batteries or
the materials listed in Paragraph (1) of this subsection to
useable battery materials;
P. "Specialized battery recycler" does not include
entities that are only engaged in the collection or logistics
of moving materials for recycling or whose primary method of
battery recycling is done by smelting; and
Q. "spent battery" means a propulsion battery for
which costs associated with reuse, repurposing, remanufacturing
or recycling the battery present a burden for the secondary
handler or secondary user that has removed the battery from the
vehicle.
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SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PROHIBITION ON LANDFILLING.--
A. All propulsion batteries in the state shall be
managed responsibly at end-of-life in accordance with the
battery management hierarchy. Disposal of propulsion batteries
through landfilling is prohibited.
B. A commercial hauler shall not knowingly collect
a propulsion battery, or any module or cell of a propulsion
battery, placed for collection and disposal as solid waste. A
commercial hauler may refuse to collect a solid waste container
containing a propulsion battery or any components of a
propulsion battery.
C. No solid waste facility in this state shall
knowingly accept for disposal a propulsion battery or any
components of a propulsion battery or a truckload or roll-off
container of solid waste containing a propulsion battery or any
components of a propulsion battery. The owner or operator of a
solid waste facility may refuse to accept for disposal a
propulsion battery or any module or cell of a propulsion
battery or any truckload or roll-off container of solid waste
containing a propulsion battery or any components of a
propulsion battery.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBLE ENTITY FOR SPENT
BATTERIES.--The responsible entity for a spent battery shall be
the battery provider, unless a secondary handler or secondary
user has modified the battery. In that case, the responsible
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entity shall be the last party that modified the battery. The
responsible entity shall be responsible for end-of-life
treatment for a spent battery consistent with the provisions of
the Promoting Responsible End-of-Life Management of Electric
Vehicle Batteries Act.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECONDARY
HANDLERS AND SECONDARY USERS.--
A. Upon repurposing or remanufacturing a propulsion
battery, secondary users and secondary handlers are responsible
for end-of-life battery management of spent batteries.
B. If a secondary handler or a secondary user
identifies a propulsion battery as a spent battery upon taking
initial possession of the battery, the secondary handler or
secondary user shall use the labeling to identify the
responsible entity for that spent battery, which shall be
either the battery provider or the last entity to have modified
the battery. The secondary handler or secondary user shall
notify the responsible entity, who shall collect the spent
battery.
C. For propulsion batteries that are unable to be
further reused, repurposed or remanufactured, secondary
handlers and secondary users shall coordinate with a
specialized battery recycler for end-of-life management to
ensure compliance with the Promoting Responsible End-of-Life
Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries Act. When a battery
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provider acts as a secondary handler or secondary user, the
battery provider shall be subject to the responsibilities of
secondary handlers and secondary users pursuant to this
section.
D. If a secondary handler or secondary user
modifies a propulsion battery, the secondary handler or
secondary user shall provide updated labeling that identifies
the secondary handler or secondary user as the responsible
entity for the modified battery before the battery can be
supplied back to market. Secondary handlers and secondary
users become responsible for ensuring spent batteries are
handled in accordance with the Promoting Responsible End-of-
Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries Act when the
secondary handlers or secondary users modify a propulsion
battery.
E. On or before April 1, 2027 and by April 1 of
each year thereafter, secondary users and secondary handlers
shall submit annual reports to the department containing the
following information for the prior calendar year, if
applicable:
(1) the total volume of propulsion batteries
each secondary user procured;
(2) identification of all auto recyclers
involved in propulsion battery collections;
(3) a brief overview of methods used to
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transport used propulsion batteries;
(4) the total volume of propulsion batteries
reused;
(5) a brief overview of processes used for
reuse of propulsion batteries;
(6) the total volume of propulsion batteries
repurposed;
(7) a brief overview of processes used to
repurpose propulsion batteries;
(8) the total volume of propulsion batteries
remanufactured;
(9) a brief overview of processes used to
remanufacture propulsion batteries;
(10) the total volume of propulsion batteries
sent to a specialized battery recycler; and
(11) the volume of spent batteries that
secondary handlers and secondary users contacted battery
providers to pick up.
F. Upon taking possession of a propulsion battery,
secondary handlers and secondary users shall manage propulsion
batteries in accordance with the battery management hierarchy.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBILITIES OF BATTERY
PROVIDERS.--
A. A battery provider shall:
(1) upon receiving notification from an auto
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recycler regarding a spent battery, be responsible for
retrieving the battery in a timely and safe manner;
(2) ensure the responsible end-of-life
management of a propulsion battery that is:
(a) removed from a vehicle still in
service while under warranty, in accordance with state and
federal laws; or
(b) returned directly to the battery
provider; and
(3) coordinate with specialized battery
recyclers for the end-of-life management of propulsion
batteries if recycling is the only viable second-life
application available for a propulsion battery, to ensure
compliance with the Promoting Responsible End-of-Life
Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries Act.
B. A battery provider shall ensure that a
propulsion battery sold in New Mexico while embedded in a
vehicle shall have easily interpretable and accessible battery
state of health data:
(1) while the battery is inside the vehicle;
and
(2) when the battery has been removed from the
vehicle for the purpose of facilitating the potential reuse,
repurposing or remanufacture of the battery.
C. A battery provider ceases to be the responsible
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entity for remanufactured or repurposed propulsion batteries
unless the battery provider has performed the remanufacturing
or repurposing or has agreed to accept responsibility for such
liability by contract.
D. If a vehicle containing a propulsion battery
originally sold in New Mexico is retired out of state, it is
not subject to the provisions of the Promoting Responsible
End-of-Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries Act.
E. On or before April 1, 2027 and by April 1 of
each year thereafter, battery providers shall submit an annual
report to the department containing the following information
for the prior calendar year:
(1) the total volume of propulsion batteries
managed at end-of-life;
(2) the total volume of propulsion batteries
managed by specialized battery recyclers in accordance with the
Promoting Responsible End-of-Life Management of Electric
Vehicle Batteries Act; and
(3) the total volume of propulsion batteries
procured in the following categories:
(a) batteries acquired from auto
recyclers; and
(b) batteries procured from other
sources.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBILITIES OF SPECIALIZED
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BATTERY RECYCLERS.--On or before April 1, 2027 and by April 1
of each year thereafter, specialized battery recyclers shall
submit an annual report to the department containing the
following information for the prior calendar year:
A. the total volume of propulsion batteries the
specialized battery recycler has procured;
B. the total volume of propulsion batteries
recycled; and
C. the recovery rates of lithium, nickel, cobalt,
copper, aluminum and graphite, as applicable.
SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBILITIES OF OTHER
PERSONS.--A person that is not a battery provider, secondary
handler or secondary user seeking to discard a vehicle
propulsion battery shall:
A. return the vehicle propulsion battery or the
vehicle containing the vehicle propulsion battery to the
responsible entity or notify the responsible entity and
coordinate timely and safe pickup of the battery to be done by
the responsible entity; or
B. sell or transfer the vehicle propulsion battery
or the vehicle containing the vehicle propulsion battery to a
secondary handler, secondary user or specialized battery
recycler.
SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
DEPARTMENT.--The department shall:
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A. notify secondary handlers, secondary users,
commercial haulers and solid waste facilities of the
prohibition on disposing of propulsion batteries in landfills
and that auto recyclers can contact the responsible entity to
take responsibility for spent batteries;
B. determine how to proceed if the federal
government passes laws or publishes regulations pertaining to
propulsion batteries that may impact the requirements outlined
in the Promoting Responsible End-of-Life Management of Electric
Vehicle Batteries Act and review, evaluate and compare the
federal requirements to those provided for in that act;
C. revise applicable administrative rules to ensure
compliance with federal standards and achieve greater
efficiency and feasibility; and
D. determine and enforce violations, administrative
compliance cost recovery and penalties for battery providers,
specialized battery recyclers, secondary handlers and secondary
users that violate the provisions of the Promoting Responsible
End-of-Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries Act or
fail to meet the requirements outlined in that act, in
alignment with those provisions of the New Mexico
Administrative Code required by the federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act.
SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is January 1, 2026.
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