SB26-003, a Colorado bill requiring EV manufacturers to manage end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and file safety plans with state regulators starting in 2030, cleared the Senate today.

The measure heads next to the House, where committee hearings and floor votes will determine whether the framework becomes Colorado law this session. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Katie Wallace (D-Longmont) and Assistant Majority Leader Lisa Cutter (D-Jefferson County), covers electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid vehicle batteries.

What would the bill actually do?

SB26-003 establishes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) regime, placing collection, reuse, and recycling obligations on the manufacturer. The measure would require EV makers to take back and responsibly handle unwanted batteries, channeling viable packs toward reuse or second-life applications and directing non-viable cells to qualified recyclers.

The bill also codifies environmental and safety guidelines, including minimum mineral recovery rates for processors handling lithium, cobalt, and nickel recovered from spent cells.

"Coloradans who drive electric vehicles care about reducing their environmental footprint," Wallace said. "But right now, Colorado lacks a clear framework to specify who is responsible for the battery at the end of a vehicle's life, and that means batteries that could be re-used or recycled are needlessly going to waste."

When do the compliance deadlines kick in?

Beginning in 2030, manufacturers must submit regular safety plans on EV battery management to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Hazardous Waste Division. The division would serve as implementing agency, drafting enforceable rules on storage, transport, and end-of-life handling, and translating the bill's mineral recovery thresholds into specific percentages.

"Colorado is a leader in electric vehicle adoption," Cutter said. "It's important that EV batteries are handled properly to ensure they are not a fire hazard, and ultimately recycled effectively. This bill will help reduce reliance on newly mined minerals and improve the sustainability of electric vehicles."

How does the bill connect to Colorado's supply chain?

SB26-003 frames battery recycling as a critical-minerals policy tool, not just a waste-management measure. Recovery targets would feed secondary lithium, cobalt, and nickel back into Colorado's manufacturing economy, aligning the state with federal efforts to onshore battery-grade feedstock.

Senate Democrats cited a January 2025 Stanford University study in announcing the bill. That research found efficient recycling techniques reduce the environmental impact of EVs and strengthen supply chains for the three metals most exposed to bottlenecks.

What remains unresolved?

The bill does not specify recovery rate percentages, leaving those thresholds to the Hazardous Waste Division's rulemaking process over the next several years. It also leaves open which end uses qualify under the reuse provision:

• Stationary storage deployment
• E-mobility repackaging
• Chemical refining to battery-grade salts

The decision leaves downstream economics subject to later agency guidance. The legislation also stops short of identifying which specific recycling pathways would satisfy minimum recovery thresholds, with that scope determination falling to the agency charged with drafting rules before the 2030 compliance date.

What happens next?

SB26-003 now goes to the Colorado House for further consideration. The next procedural milestone is committee referral, followed by floor votes in that chamber.

If the House passes the bill, enforcement moves to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which must publish implementable rules well before the 2030 safety-plan filing date. Recyclers and OEMs will track that rulemaking closely, since the recovery percentages ultimately adopted will shape capital allocation decisions for new recycling capacity sized to Colorado's EV fleet.

Cutter, who flagged her prior work on the circular economy in announcing the bill, called the legislation "this next big step for Colorado."