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Witnesses, local governments and industry back HB 4,144 to curb battery fires and fund statewide collection

House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee · February 5, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Witnesses from Metro, counties, recyclers, and industry told the House committee that HB 4,144's producer-funded stewardship program would reduce battery fires, protect workers and infrastructure, and create convenient collection; some recyclers asked amendments to include existing private recyclers in the implementation framework.

The committee heard a broad panel of testimony on House Bill 4,144, a proposed battery extended producer responsibility (EPR) law that would require covered producers to participate in a battery producer responsibility organization and implement statewide free and convenient battery collection.

Representative Dacia Graber (House District 28), sponsor of HB 4,144, described firefighter experience with increasing lithium-ion battery fires and urged passage to keep hazardous batteries out of homes, trucks and…

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