103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3374

 

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Lawrence "Larry" Walsh, Jr.

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Electric Vehicle Recycling Act. Provides that, within 60 days after the Act's effective date, manufacturers of electric vehicles that contain hazardous components and batteries must begin to implement a collection program that facilitates the removal of hazardous components and batteries from end-of-life vehicles prior to the electric vehicles being flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for recycling and to collect and properly manage hazardous components and batteries in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that, within 90 days after the Act's effective date, manufacturers of vehicles that contain hazardous components and batteries that cannot be reused and are deemed to be hazardous, must submit to the Environmental Protection Agency an implementation plan that describes how the collection program will be carried out for the duration of the program. Requires the Agency to provide assistance to manufacturers in their implementation of the collection program. Contains provisions regarding violations and penalties under the Act and indemnification for manufacturers. Contains other provisions. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3374LRB103 26380 CPF 52742 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Electric Vehicle Recycling Act.
 
6    Section 3. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7        (1) A manufacturer of electric vehicles with
8    components or batteries that cannot be reused and are
9    deemed to be hazardous, and any component with no
10    economical recyclable value that will end up in a landfill
11    in the State of Illinois, should be solely responsible, at
12    the manufacturer's expense, for proper removal, handling,
13    and recycling. This should include proper training,
14    ongoing education, and specialty equipment and tools
15    required, at no expense, for a licensed auto recycler to
16    complete the safe removal of all hazardous components and
17    batteries under this Act.
18        (2) Hazardous components and batteries must be removed
19    when end-of-life vehicles are flattened, crushed, baled,
20    shredded, melted, or otherwise processed for recycling.
21        (3) Removing hazardous components and batteries from
22    end-of-life vehicles is an effective way to prevent them
23    from being released into the environment.

 

 

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1        (4) It is in the interest of the residents of the State
2    of Illinois to remove these hazardous components and
3    batteries from end-of-life vehicles.
 
4    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
5    "Agency" means the Environmental Protection Agency.
6    "Battery" means a container consisting of one or more
7cells, modules, or any means of power storage in which
8chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a
9source of power.
10    "Electric vehicle" has the same meaning as defined in
11Section 11-1308 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
12    "End-of-life vehicle" means an electric vehicle that is
13sold, given, or otherwise conveyed to a vehicle recycler for
14the purpose of reselling its parts or for recycling.
15    "Hazardous component" means a component of an electric
16vehicle with any chemical, pollutant, waste, or substance that
17is classified or regulated under any environmental law as a
18hazardous substance, toxic substance, pollutant, or
19contaminant.
20    "Manufacturer" means a person who is the last person in
21the production or assembly process of a new electric vehicle
22that uses one or more hazardous components and batteries; in
23the case of an imported electric vehicle, the manufacturer is
24the importer or domestic distributor of the electric vehicle.
25"Manufacturer" does not include any person engaged in the

 

 

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1business of selling new electric vehicles at retail or
2converting or modifying new electric vehicles after the
3production or assembly process.
4    "Person" means any individual, partnership,
5co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company,
6corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate,
7political subdivision, State agency, or any other legal
8entity, or its legal representative, agent, or assign.
9    "Removal" means removing any number of hazardous
10components or batteries from an end-of-life vehicle prior to
11the vehicle being flattened, crushed, baled, shredded, or
12otherwise processed for recycling or that are available to be
13removed from an end-of-life vehicle that is flattened,
14crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for recycling.
15    "Scrap metal recycler" means a person who engages in the
16business of shredding or otherwise processing end-of-life
17vehicles or other scrap metal into prepared grades and whose
18principal product is scrap iron, scrap steel, or nonferrous
19metallic scrap for sale or for remelting purposes.
20    "Vehicle recycler" means a person who engages in the
21business of acquiring, dismantling, removing parts from, or
22destroying 6 or more end-of-life vehicles in a calendar year
23for the primary purpose of reselling the vehicles' parts.
 
24    Section 10. Removal requirements.
25    (a) Hazardous components and batteries that cannot be

 

 

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1reused and are deemed to be hazardous from end-of-life
2vehicles must be managed in accordance with the Environmental
3Protection Act and any rules and regulations adopted
4thereunder.
5    (b) No person shall represent that all hazardous
6components and batteries have been removed from an electric
7vehicle if hazardous components and batteries have not been
8removed from the electric vehicle, except where a hazardous
9component or battery cannot be removed from the electric
10vehicle because it is inaccessible due to significant damage
11to the electric vehicle in the area surrounding a mercury
12switch or hazardous component or battery.
13    (c) Consistent with the protection of confidential
14business information, vehicle recyclers who remove hazardous
15components and batteries from end-of-life vehicles must
16maintain records documenting the removal and disposal of
17hazardous components and batteries that cannot be reused and
18are deemed to be hazardous as set forth by the manufacturers'
19collection program established under Section 15, including,
20but not limited to, the make and model of each car from which
21one or more hazardous components or batteries that cannot be
22reused and are deemed to be hazardous are removed by a vehicle
23recycler. The records required under this subsection must be
24retained at the vehicle recycler's place of business for a
25minimum of 3 years and made available for inspection and
26copying by the Agency during normal business hours.
 

 

 

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1    Section 15. Hazardous components and battery collection
2program.
3    (a) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act,
4manufacturers of electric vehicles that contain hazardous
5components, nonrecyclable components, or batteries must begin
6implementing a program that facilitates the removal of
7hazardous components and batteries that cannot be reused and
8are deemed to be hazardous from end-of-life vehicles prior to
9the vehicles being flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise
10processed for recycling and to collect and properly manage
11hazardous components and batteries in accordance with the
12Environmental Protection Act and any rules and regulations
13adopted thereunder. In order to ensure that hazardous
14components and batteries are removed and collected in a safe
15and consistent manner, manufacturers must provide training and
16certification, at no expense, to licensed vehicle recyclers in
17accordance with the Illinois Vehicle code for end-of-life
18vehicle recycling infrastructure. The collection program must
19be designed to comply with the following:
20        (1) Develop and provide educational materials that
21    include guidance as to which electric vehicles may contain
22    hazardous components and batteries and procedures for
23    locating and removing them for proper recycling, as set
24    forth by the manufacturers. The educational materials may
25    include, but are not limited to, brochures, fact sheets,

 

 

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1    and videos.
2        (2) Conduct outreach activities to encourage vehicle
3    recyclers and vehicle crushers to participate in the
4    recycling program. The activities may include, but are not
5    limited to, direct mailings, workshops, and site visits.
6        (3) Provide storage containers to participating
7    vehicle recyclers and vehicle crushers for proper
8    collection under the program.
9        (4) Provide a collection and transportation system to
10    periodically collect and replace filled storage containers
11    from vehicle recyclers either upon notification that a
12    storage container is full or on a schedule predetermined
13    by the manufacturers.
14        (5) Establish an entity that will serve as a point of
15    contact for the collection program and that will
16    establish, implement, and oversee the collection program
17    on behalf of the manufacturers.
18        (6) Track participation in the collection program and
19    the progress of collections.
20    (b) Within 90 days after the effective date of this Act,
21manufacturers of electric vehicles that contain hazardous
22components and batteries that cannot be reused and are deemed
23to be hazardous must submit to the Agency an implementation
24plan that describes how the collection program under
25subsection (a) will be carried out for the duration of the
26collection program. At a minimum, the implementation plan must

 

 

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1comply with the following:
2        (1) Identify the educational materials and procedures
3    that will assist, at no expense to vehicle recyclers in
4    identifying, removing, and properly managing hazardous
5    components and batteries from end-of-life vehicles.
6        (2) Describe the outreach program that will be
7    undertaken to encourage vehicle recyclers to participate
8    in the collection program.
9        (3) Describe how the manufacturers will ensure that
10    hazardous components and batteries removed from
11    end-of-life vehicles are managed in accordance with the
12    Environmental Protection Act and any rules and regulations
13    adopted thereunder.
14        (4) Describe how the manufacturers will collect and
15    document the information required under this Act.
16        (5) Describe how the collection program will be
17    financed and implemented.
18        (6) Identify the manufacturers' addresses to which the
19    Agency should send notice to the manufacturers of the
20    collection program. The Agency shall review the collection
21    program implementation plans it receives for completeness
22    and shall notify each manufacturer in writing if a
23    collection program implementation plan is incomplete.
24    Within 30 days after receiving a notification of
25    incompleteness from the Agency, the manufacturers shall
26    submit to the Agency an implementation plan that contains

 

 

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1    all of the required information.
2    (c) The Agency must provide assistance to manufacturers in
3their implementation of the collection program required under
4this Section. The assistance shall include providing
5manufacturers with information about businesses likely to be
6engaged in vehicle recycling conducting site visits to promote
7participation in the collection program, and assisting with
8the scheduling, locating, and staffing of workshops conducted
9to encourage vehicle recyclers to participate in the
10collection program.
11    (d) Manufacturers subject to the requirements of this
12Section shall provide, to the extent practicable, the
13opportunity for trade associations of vehicle recyclers to be
14involved in the delivery and dissemination of educational
15materials, at no expense, regarding the identification,
16removal, collection, and proper management of electric vehicle
17batteries and hazardous components in end-of-life vehicles.
18    (e) The Agency shall provide notice under this Section by
19posting a statement on its website and by sending a written
20notice via certified mail to the manufacturers, subject to the
21requirements of this Section, at the addresses provided in the
22manufacturers' collection program plan under paragraph (6) of
23subsection (b).
24    (f) Beginning 30 days after the Agency first provides
25notice under this Section, the following shall apply:
26        (1) Vehicle recyclers must remove all hazardous

 

 

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1    components and batteries from end-of-life vehicles prior
2    to delivering the vehicles to a scrap metal recycler,
3    provided that a vehicle recycler is not required to remove
4    hazardous components or batteries that are inaccessible
5    due to significant damage to the vehicle in the area
6    surrounding the hazardous components or batteries that
7    occurred prior to the vehicle recycler's receipt of the
8    vehicle, in which case the damage must be noted in the
9    records the vehicle recycler is required to maintain under
10    subsection (c) of Section 10.
11        (2) No vehicle recycler, or scrap metal recycler shall
12    flatten, crush, or otherwise process an end-of-life
13    vehicle for recycling unless all hazardous components and
14    batteries have been removed from the vehicle, provided
15    that hazardous components or batteries that are
16    inaccessible due to significant damage to the vehicle in
17    the area surrounding the hazardous components or batteries
18    that occurred prior to the vehicle recycler's receipt of
19    the vehicle are not required to be removed. The damage
20    must be noted in the records the vehicle recyclers
21    required to maintain under this Act.
22    (g) Manufacturers subject to the requirements of this
23Section must provide to vehicle recyclers the following
24compensation for all hazardous components and batteries
25removed from end-of-life vehicles on or after the date of
26notice provided by the Agency under this Act:

 

 

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1        (1) For each hazardous component and battery removed
2    by the vehicle recycler or scrap metal recycler, an amount
3    based upon the manufacturers' warranties, procedures, and
4    the shop rate.
5        (2) The costs of the containers in which hazardous
6    components and batteries are collected and the costs of
7    packaging and transporting hazardous components and
8    batteries off-site. Payment of this compensation must be
9    provided in a prompt manner.
10    (h) In meeting the requirements of this Section,
11manufacturers may work individually or as part of a group of 2
12or more manufacturers.
 
13    Section 20. Agency recommendations. Every 3 years the
14Agency shall make a recommendation to the General Assembly as
15to whether the compensation required under subsection (g) of
16Section 15 should be modified to ensure adequate compensation
17for the removal of hazardous components and batteries from
18end-of-life vehicles. In developing its recommendations, the
19Agency shall seek comments and information from interested
20persons, including, but not limited to, representatives of
21vehicle recyclers, vehicle manufacturers, and environmental
22groups.
 
23    Section 25. Submission to the Agency. All information
24required to be submitted to the Agency under this Act must be

 

 

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1submitted on forms prescribed by the Agency.
 
2    Section 30. Investigation of violations; penalties.
3    (a) The Agency shall investigate violations of this Act.
4    (b) Any manufacturer that willfully or knowingly violates
5any provision of this Act or willfully or knowingly fails to
6perform any duty imposed under this Act shall be liable for a
7civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for the violation and an
8additional civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day the
9violation continues, and shall be liable for a civil penalty
10not to exceed $5,000 for a second or subsequent violation and
11an additional civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each day
12the second or subsequent violation continues.
13    (c) Any vehicle recycler or scrap metal recycler who
14willfully or knowingly violates any provision of this Act or
15fails to perform any duty imposed under this Act shall be
16liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for the first
17violation and a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for a second
18or subsequent violation.
19    (d) The penalties provided in this Section may be
20recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the People
21of the State of Illinois by the State's Attorney of the county
22in which the violation occurred or by the Attorney General.
23    Without limiting any other authority that may exist for
24the awarding of attorneys' fees and costs, a court of
25competent jurisdiction may award costs and reasonable

 

 

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1attorneys' fees, including the reasonable costs of expert
2witnesses and consultants, to the State's Attorney or the
3Attorney General in a case where he or she has prevailed
4against a person who has committed a willful, knowing, or
5repeated violation of this Act. Any funds collected under this
6Section in an action in which the Attorney General has
7prevailed shall be deposited in the Hazardous Waste Fund. Any
8funds collected under this Section in an action in which a
9State's Attorney has prevailed shall be retained by the county
10in which he or she serves.
11    (e) The State's Attorney of the county in which a
12violation occurs or the Attorney General may, at the request
13of the Agency or on his or her own motion, institute civil
14action for an injunction, prohibitory or mandatory, to
15restrain a violation of this Act or to require such other
16action as may be necessary to address a violation of this Act.
17    (f) The penalties and injunctions provided in this Act are
18in addition to any penalties, injunctions, or other relief
19provided under any other law. Nothing in this Act shall bar a
20cause of action by the State for any other penalty,
21injunction, or relief provided by any other law.
 
22    Section 35. Indemnification. Manufacturers subject to the
23requirements of this Act shall indemnify, defend, and hold
24harmless vehicle recyclers and scrap metal recyclers for any
25liability arising from the release from hazardous components

 

 

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1and batteries after they are transferred under the
2manufacturers' collection program to a manufacturer or its
3agent, provided that it has been managed in accordance with
4the Environmental Protection Act and any rules and regulations
5adopted thereunder prior to the transfer.
 
6    Section 40. Federal requirements. If the Agency determines
7that the requirements of this Act are no longer necessary
8because a federal program provides equal or greater protection
9to human health and safety and the environment in this State,
10the Agency shall submit a report of its determination to the
11General Assembly. In making its determination, the Agency
12shall seek comments or information from interested persons,
13including, but not limited to, representatives of vehicle
14recyclers, vehicle crushers, scrap metal recyclers, vehicle
15manufacturers, and environmental groups.
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
17becoming law.