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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2024
Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016
Health and Safety Code
Division 20. Miscellaneous Health and Safety Provisions
Chapter 6.5. Hazardous Waste Control
Article 10.5. The Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016
Section 25215.1
25215.1. Definitions. For purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Board" means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
(b) "Business" means any person, as defined in subdivision (k), except a natural person or a city, county, city and county, district, commission, the state, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of any of those, or an interstate body or, to the extent permitted by law, the United States and its agencies and instrumentalities.
(c) "California battery fee" means the fee imposed pursuant to Section 25215.25.
(d) "Dealer" means a person who engages in the retail sale of replacement lead-acid batteries directly to persons in California. "Dealer" includes a manufacturer of a new lead-acid battery that sells at retail that lead-acid battery directly to a person through any means, including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a sales outlet, catalog, or internet website or any other similar electronic means.
(e) "Importer" means a person described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (h).
(f) "Lead-acid battery" means a battery weighing over five kilograms that is primarily composed of both lead and sulfuric acid, whether sulfuric acid is in liquid, solid, or gel state, with a capacity of six volts or more that is used for any of the following purposes:
(1) As a starting battery that is designed to deliver a high burst of energy to an internal combustion engine until it starts.
(2) As a motive power battery that is designed to provide the source of power for propulsion or operation of a vehicle, including a watercraft.
(3) As a stationary storage or standby battery that is designed to be used in systems where the battery acts as either electrical storage for electricity generation equipment or a source of emergency power, or otherwise serves as a backup in case of failure or interruption in the flow of power from the primary source.
(4) As a source of auxiliary power to support the electrical systems in a vehicle, as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle Code, including an implement of husbandry, as defined in Section 36000 of the Vehicle Code, or an aircraft.
(g) (1) "Lead-acid battery recycling facility" means a site at which lead-acid batteries are or have been disassembled for the purpose of making components available for reclamation to produce elemental lead or lead alloys or at which lead-acid batteries or their components, or both, are or have been reclaimed to produce elemental lead or lead alloys.
(2) "Lead-acid battery recycling facility" does not include a facility designed and operated for the primary purpose of recovering lead from materials other than used lead-acid batteries or a facility that incidentally processes lead-acid batteries. The processing of lead previously reclaimed from a lead-acid battery at a separate facility or the incidental processing of lead-acid batteries shall not be sufficient to establish that a facility is a lead-acid battery recycling facility.
(h) "Manufacturer" means either of the following:
(1) The person who manufactures the lead-acid battery and who sells, offers for sale, or distributes the lead-acid battery in the state.
(2) (A) If there is no person described in paragraph (1) that is subject to the jurisdiction of the state, the manufacturer is the person who imports the lead-acid battery into the state for sale or distribution.
(B) For purposes of this article, a person is subject to the jurisdiction of the state with respect to a lead-acid battery if the person is engaged in business in this state. For purposes of this subparagraph, a person shall be considered to be engaged in business in this state if the person is a "retailer engaged in business in this state," as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 6203 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, with respect to that lead-acid battery, or if the person has a substantial nexus with this state for purposes of the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.
(i) "Manufacturer battery fee" means the fee imposed pursuant to Section 25215.35.
(j) "Owner or operator" has the same meaning given in Section 9601(20) of Title 42 of the United States Code and any person that previously met that definition or is the legal successor to a person that meets the definition or previously met the definition.
(k) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, business concern, corporation, including, but not limited to, a government corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or association. "Person" also includes any city, county, city and county, district, commission, the state, or any department, agency, or political subdivision of any of those, interstate body, and the United States and its agencies and instrumentalities to the extent permitted by law.
(l) "Remedial action" has the same meaning as in Section 78125.
(m) "Removal" has the same meaning as in Section 78135.
(n) "Replacement lead-acid battery" means a new lead-acid battery that is sold at retail subsequent to the original sale or lease of the equipment or vehicle in which the lead-acid battery is intended to be used. "Replacement lead-acid battery" does not include a spent, discarded, refurbished, reconditioned, rebuilt, or reused lead-acid battery.
(o) "Response action" has the same meaning as in Section 78140.
(p) (1) A "retail sale" or a "sale at retail" has the same meaning as defined in Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2) The following shall not be considered a "retail sale" or a "sale at retail" for purposes of this article:
(A) The sale of a battery for which a California battery fee has previously been paid.
(B) The sale of a replacement lead-acid battery that is temporarily stored or used in California for the sole purpose of preparing the replacement lead-acid battery for use thereafter solely outside of the state and that is subsequently transported outside the state and thereafter used solely outside of the state.
(C) The sale of a battery for incorporation into new equipment for subsequent resale.
(D) The replacement of a lead-acid battery pursuant to a warranty or a vehicle service contract described under Section 12800 of the Insurance Code.
(E) The sale of any battery intended for use with or contained within a medical device, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 321(h)), as that definition may be amended.
(q) "Used lead-acid battery" means a lead-acid battery no longer fully capable of providing the power for which it was designed or that a person no longer wants for any other reason.
(r) "Wholesaler"means a person who purchases a lead-acid battery from a manufacturer for the purpose of selling the lead-acid battery to a dealer, high-volume customer, or person for incorporation into new equipment for resale.
History—Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 666 (AB 2153), in effect September 26, 2016, but operative January 1, 2017. Stats. 2019, Ch. 860 (AB 142), effective October 13, 2019, substituted "the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration" for "State Board of Equalization," changed "(j)" to "(k)" in subdivision (b), substituted "a" for "every" and "internet website" for "Internet Web site," respectively, in subdivision (d), added new subdivision (e) and relettered former subdivisions (f) through (q), substituted "a" for "any" in subdivisions (f), (g), and (r), respectively, substituted "an implement of husbandry" for "a vehicle" in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f), numbered part of subdivision (g) as paragraph (1), and added paragraph (2) to subdivision (g), lettered part of paragraph (2) as subparagraph (A), and added subparagraph (B) to paragraph (2) of subdivision (h), substituted "The following shall…of this article" for "‘Retail sale’" does not include any of the following," substituted "Federal" for "federal" and added "Sec." after "21 U.S.C." in subparagraph (E) in paragraph (2) of subdivision (p). Stats. 2020, Ch. 276 (AB 2104), in effect January 1, 2021, added comma after "husbandry" in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f); added "or a facility that incidentally processes lead-acid batteries" to first sentence and "or the incidental processing of lead-acid batteries" after "separate facility" in second sentence of paragraph (2) of subdivision (g). Stats. 2022, Ch. 258 (AB 2327), in effect January 1, 2024, substitute "78125" for "25322" after "Section" in subdivision (l); substitute "78135" for "25323" after "Section" in subdivision (m); substitute "78140" for "25323.3" after "Section" in subdivision "o".