(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. Existing law requires a person engaged in the transportation of hazardous waste to be registered with the department and to have a manifest while transporting the hazardous waste, except if the transport is from specified facilities or programs. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would exempt from the above-described registration and manifest provisions a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students.

The bill would also impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from schools, as provided. The bill would require any vape pens and devices to be transported in closed containers clearly bearing the schools Environmental Protection Agency identification number. The bill would specify conditions that apply for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted by a household hazardous waste collection facility without exceeding the specified weight limits. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, or (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailers agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency, upon discovery that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers in violation of that prohibition to seize the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers at the retail location or any other persons location. Existing law deems those seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers as forfeited to the state, and requires the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer, as provided. Existing law also requires the department to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer upon a 2nd or 3rd seizure and forfeiture, as provided.

This bill would apply those same seizure, forfeiture, and civil penalty provisions to a retailer who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of vape products, as defined, in violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

Existing law authorizes a peace officer or department employee granted limited peace officer status, as provided, upon presenting appropriate credentials, to enter any place at which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold, produced, or stored or at any site where evidence of a violation of specified laws relating to cigarette or tobacco products may be discovered, and to conduct inspections in accordance with specified requirements.

This bill would also authorize those inspections at any place where there is evidence of a violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

(4)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 22974.2 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 762 to be operative only if this bill and AB 762 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. Existing law requires a person engaged in the transportation of hazardous waste to be registered with the department and to have a manifest while transporting the hazardous waste, except if the transport is from specified facilities or programs. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would exempt from the above-described registration and manifest provisions a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students.

The bill would also impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from schools, as provided. The bill would require any vape pens and devices to be transported in closed containers clearly bearing the schools Environmental Protection Agency identification number. The bill would specify conditions that apply for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted by a household hazardous waste collection facility without exceeding the specified weight limits. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, or (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailers agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency, upon discovery that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers in violation of that prohibition to seize the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers at the retail location or any other persons location. Existing law deems those seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers as forfeited to the state, and requires the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer, as provided. Existing law also requires the department to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer upon a 2nd or 3rd seizure and forfeiture, as provided.

This bill would apply those same seizure, forfeiture, and civil penalty provisions to a retailer who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of vape products, as defined, in violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

Existing law authorizes a peace officer or department employee granted limited peace officer status, as provided, upon presenting appropriate credentials, to enter any place at which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold, produced, or stored or at any site where evidence of a violation of specified laws relating to cigarette or tobacco products may be discovered, and to conduct inspections in accordance with specified requirements.

This bill would also authorize those inspections at any place where there is evidence of a violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

(4)This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 22974.2 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 762 to be operative only if this bill and AB 762 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. Existing law requires a person engaged in the transportation of hazardous waste to be registered with the department and to have a manifest while transporting the hazardous waste, except if the transport is from specified facilities or programs. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials, as specified. The bill would exempt from the above-described registration and manifest provisions a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students.

The bill would also impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from schools, as provided. The bill would require any vape pens and devices to be transported in containers bearing the schools Environmental Protection Agency identification number. The bill would specify conditions that apply for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted by a household hazardous waste collection facility without exceeding the specified weight limits. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, or (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailers agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer. Existing law authorizes the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency, upon discovery that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers in violation of that prohibition to seize the flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers at the retail location or any other persons location. Existing law deems those seized flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers as forfeited to the state, and requires the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer, as provided. Existing law also requires the department to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer upon a 2nd or 3rd seizure and forfeiture, as provided.

This bill would apply those same seizure, forfeiture, and civil penalty provisions to a retailer who possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of vape products, as defined, in violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

Existing law authorizes a peace officer or department employee granted limited peace officer status, as provided, upon presenting appropriate credentials, to enter any place at which cigarettes or tobacco products are sold, produced, or stored or at any site where evidence of a violation of specified laws relating to cigarette or tobacco products may be discovered, and to conduct inspections in accordance with specified requirements.

This bill would also authorize those inspections at any place where there is evidence of a violation of the prohibitions related to a vape product described in paragraph (2), above.

(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials, as specified.

The bill would also impose the above-described conditions relating to the transport of hazardous waste on a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from schools, as provided. The bill would require any vape pens and devices to be transported in containers bearing the schools Environmental Protection Agency identification number. The bill would specify conditions that apply for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted by a household hazardous waste collection facility without exceeding the specified weight limits. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, or (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires hazardous waste transported to a household hazardous waste collection facility to be transported by specified entities, and imposes conditions on the acceptance of hazardous waste by a household hazardous waste collection facility, including, among others, that the hazardous waste not exceed certain weight requirements. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws is a crime.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials, as specified.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, (B) using branding that is known to appeal to minors, or (C) (B) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. Existing law requires every person desiring to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products as, among other things, a wholesaler to file an application for a license, as specified.

This bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to revoke or suspend any license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products, as defined, of any person with a license who is in upon the persons 2nd or subsequent violation of the above-described prohibitions.

(4)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1)Existing law authorizes certain entities to operate household hazardous waste collection facilities, as defined, including permanent and temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, under permits issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

This bill would require, until January 1, 2030, the department to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school, as provided, and identify any recommendations that require future legislative action. The bill would authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials, as specified.

(2)Existing law requires all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.

This bill would prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by (A) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, (B) using branding that is known to appeal to minors, or (C) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product, as provided.

This bill would authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the above-described prohibitions and to impose civil liability on a person or entity, or distributor, in violation of the prohibitions in specified fine amounts, including $1,000 for the first violation, or for a distributor, $50,000 per violation. The bill would require any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action, and would authorize the Attorney General to expend any penalties it collects, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce the prohibitions. The bill would specify that any remedies provided pursuant to these provisions are not exclusive and are in addition to the remedies that may be available pursuant to specified provisions relating to unfair competition. The bill would make any person who violates the prohibitions guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 provides for the licensure and regulation of manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. Existing law requires every person desiring to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products as, among other things, a wholesaler to file an application for a license, as specified.

This bill would require the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to revoke or suspend any license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products, as defined, of any person with a license who is in violation of the above-described prohibitions.

(4)The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities, including retail commercial cannabis activity. MAUCRSA authorizes the Department of Cannabis Control to revoke or suspend a license if, among other things, a licensee fails to actively and diligently pursue requirements for a license.

This bill would require the Department of Cannabis Control to revoke or suspend a license issued by the department of any person with a license who is in violation of the above-described prohibitions.

(5)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2667

Author:(Hadwick and Wicks)

As Amended Ver:August 21, 2026

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires, until January 1, 2030, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school. Prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors; or, if the vape is constructed into clothing or accessories that could be marketed to minors.

Senate Amendments

1) Delete the following provisions from the bill:

a) Authorize household hazard waste (HHW) facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes; and,

b) Prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product ; uses branding that is known to appeal to minors.

2) Authorizes a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students to transport the vape pens and devices to a HHW collection facility without having to fill out a hazardous waste manifest.

3) Authorizes, when hazardous waste is transported to a HHW collection facility, a school or HHW collection facility to rely on guidance issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as specified.

4) Add chaptering amendments with AB 762 (Irwin).

COMMENTS

Hazardous waste management: Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. In regulatory terms, a waste is hazardous if it appears on a federal Resources Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous wastes list or exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. However, materials can be hazardous waste even if they are not specifically listed or do not exhibit any characteristic of a hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at a recycling facility.

Regulation of batteries: State law, the Hazardous Waste Control Law, prohibits the disposal of batteries in the trash or household recycling collection bins intended to receive other non-hazardous waste and/or recyclable materials. Many types of batteries, regardless of size, exhibit hazardous characteristics and are considered hazardous waste when they are discarded. These include single use alkaline and lithium batteries and rechargeable lithium metal, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries of various sizes (AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-Volt, and small sealed lead-acid batteries). Many batteries are sold within products, such as lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in portable electronics like laptops, smart phones, digital cameras, game consoles, and cordless power tools. Because lithium-ion batteries contain hazardous and corrosive materials, they also pose a fire risk if not stored or disposed of properly. Single use vape devices usually contain a lithium-ion battery, making them hazardous waste at the end of life of the product.

HHW collection: Many common household products are also hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become ″HHW.″ Common HHW includes, but is not limited to, antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a HHW Program. Most HHW programs are run by local government agencies such as cities or counties.

This bill: Requires, until January 1, 2030, DTSC to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school. Additionally, AB 2667 authorizes a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students to transport the vape pens and devices to a HHW collection facility without having to fill out a hazardous waste manifest.

Environmental impacts of disposable vapes: In the 2023 report, ″Vape waste: The environmental harms of disposable vapes,″ the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund states:

″One product stands apart as being particularly harmful to our environment and public health—disposable vapes. Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, are handheld battery powered electronic devices with heated metal coils that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products, known as e-liquid. Nicotine is the famously addictive stimulant found in tobacco that gives smokers a dopamine hit, and makes quitting difficult. Much has been made of the public health harms of disposable vapes, but this report aims to understand their effects as hazardous electronic waste.

Electronic waste produced from disposable vapes includes both the circuit boards and lithium ion batteries that power the device. These boards contain some of the heavy metals mentioned above, which can leach into the groundwater. Due to the nicotine e-liquid used in these products, vape waste can′t be recycled with other plastics because the substance is defined by the [US] EPA as an acute hazardous waste.″

Marketing of vapes that look like harmless school supplies: When vape products are made to look like school supplies, it further burdens schools when addressing vape use at schools. Additionally, when vape products look like school supplies, it is very likely that they will end up in the solid waste stream. This could lead to increased fires in solid waste trucks and solid waste landfills.

This bill: AB 2667 additionally prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors; or, if the vape is constructed into clothing or accessories that could be marketed to minors.

According to the Author

″Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.″

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of groups including Rural County Representatives of California, Zero Waste Marin, Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, National Stewardship Action Council, California Product Stewardship Council, Los Angeles Unified School District, Republic Services, and Recology:

″Assembly Bill 2667 seeks to protect children, young adults, and the public by: 1) Banning disguised vapes and vapes containing video display devices, 2) Providing an easier regulatory pathway for schools to properly dispose of vapes confiscated from students, and 3) Improving the safe collection, management, and proper disposal of vapes by local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facilities.″

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill could result in annual costs to DTSC of approximately $440,000, annual costs of approximately $239,000 to $463,000 to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and unknown but potentially forgone cannabis product license fee revenue.

VOTES:

ASM ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS: 7-0-0

YES: Connolly, Ellis, Bauer-Kahan, Castillo, Lee, McKinnor, Papan

ASM BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS: 19-0-0

YES: Berman, Johnson, Addis, Ahrens, Alanis, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Caloza, Chen, Elhawary, Hadwick, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Lowenthal, Macedo, Nguyen, Pellerin

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 15-0-0

YES: Wicks, Hoover, Aguiar-Curry, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Ta, Tangipa

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0-4

YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

ABS, ABST OR NV: Haney, Jackson, Quirk-Silva, Celeste Rodriguez

UPDATED

VERSION: August 21, 2026

CONSULTANT: Josh Tooker / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0004332

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2667

Author: Hadwick (R) and Wicks (D), et al.

Amended: 8/21/26 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/17/26

AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Allen, Dahle, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar

SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/22/26

AYES: Wahab, Choi, Archuleta, Arreguín, Caballero, Menjivar, Niello, Richardson, Strickland, Umberg

NO VOTE RECORDED: Smallwood-Cuevas

SENATE REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/24/26

AYES: McNerney, Ashby, Becker, Grayson

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alvarado-Gil

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/13/26

AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/28/26 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

SOURCE: Rural County Representatives of California

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of confiscated vape pens at a school; authorizes the management of confiscated vapes from schools; and prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product appeals to minors, as specified.

Senate Floor Amendments of 8/21/2026 would exempt schools transporting vapes to authorized hazardous waste management facilities from registration and manifest requirements, authorize household hazardous waste collection facilities to accept a specified amount of acutely hazardous waste, remove the authorization for household hazardous waste collection facilities to disassemble vapes, and add contingency provisions with respect to AB 762 (Irwin) to add vape products, as described, to existing enforcement frameworks.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law establishes the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to authorize the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to manage hazardous and non-hazardous wastes throughout the wastes’ life cycle. (42 United States Code (USC) §§ 6901 et seq.)

Existing state law:

1. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) to authorize DTSC to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §§ 25100 et seq.)
2. Defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:
   1. Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
   2. Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. (HSC § 25141(b))
3. Defines hazardous waste as a federal RCRA hazardous waste if it meets any of the following criteria:
   1. It exhibits any of the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity, as defined;
   2. It is listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulation; or
   3. It is identified as a hazardous waste under state regulation, as specified. (22 California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 66261.100)
4. Defines “household hazardous waste” (HHW) as hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, but does not include waste generated in the course of operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1(e))
5. Establishes that counties and cities will provide services for the collection of HHW and that the state will provide an expedited and streamlined regulatory structure to facilitate the collection of HHW. (HSC § 25218)
6. Requires a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF) to obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit, unless the HHWCF is a recycle-only facility that meets specified conditions. (HSC § 25218.8)
7. Enacts the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (EWRA), which established a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of video display devices, such as televisions and computer monitors that are hazardous waste when discarded. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §§ 42460 et seq.)
8. Adds battery-embedded products to the EWRA. (PRC § 42463)

This bill:

1. Authorizes a HHWCF to rely on federal guidance and other provisions for the management of acutely hazardous waste for the purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices are accepted from very small quantity generators.
2. Authorizes a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices that were confiscated from students from a school that is a VSQG pursuant to an agreement between the school and local HHWCF.
3. Exempts a school transporting vape pens and devices confiscated from students from hazardous waste management registration and manifest requirements.
4. Authorizes a household hazardous waste collection facility to accept no more than 1 kilogram of acutely hazardous waste from a very small quantity generator (VSQG).
5. Authorizes a household hazardous waste collection facility to accept no more than 1 kilogram of extremely hazardous waste from a VSQG at a single time as long as it accepts a total of no more than 1,200 kilograms of non-acute hazardous waste and 12 kilograms of extremely hazardous waste from that VSQG in a calendar year.
6. Authorizes specified and separate accounting of non-acutely hazardous waste and acutely hazardous waste contained in vapes until DTSC adopts superseding guidance or regulations and requires DTSC to provide written notice of the adoption of superseding guidance or regulations to Legislative Counsel.
7. Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with RCRA, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
8. Defines “vape pen and device” to mean an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.
9. Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by doing either of the following:
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from adults, as specified; or
   2. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
10. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, and impose civil liability on a person or entity in violation of this section in the amount of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations.
11. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to impose civil liability on a distributor, as defined, who violates the prohibition on vape products, as specified, in the amount of $50,000 per violation
12. Requires any civil penalties collected to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General (AG), whichever office that brought the action.
13. Authorizes the penalties collected by the AG to be expended by the AG to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
14. Requires that any person in violation of these provisions is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.
15. Authorizes an enforcement agency to seize a product at a retail location or any other person’s location and for that product to be deemed forfeited to the state if the enforcement agency discovers that a tobacco retailer or any of its agents or employees sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a vape product prohibited by these provisions.
16. Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products of any person with a license who is in violation of these provisions upon a second seizure and forfeiture and revoke a license upon a third seizure and forfeiture.
17. Provides contingent enactment provisions referencing AB 762 (Irwin), which bans disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices, to include disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices and the vape products prohibited by this bill in the existing enforcement framework for prohibited flavored tobacco products.

Background

Vapes as hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at an authorized recycling facility.

Vapes are handheld, single-use or reusable electronic devices, typically powered by lithium-ion batteries, that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products. Vapes are known to carry and emit a variety of harmful substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, aldehydes, carbon monoxide, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).^[1] Vapes are considered hazardous waste under RCRA at their end of life due to both the corrosive properties of the embedded lithium-ion battery and the residual substances in the cartridge if filled with liquid nicotine. Liquid nicotine is considered to be acutely hazardous, thus more stringent requirements for management apply. For vapes containing cannabis products, residue left in the cartridges is considered hazardous waste under California law.

When improperly disposed of, vapes can release these hazardous substances into the environment. The embedded lithium-ion batteries may also pose a fire or explosion risk when damaged. The processes associated with solid waste collection, recycling and disposal during transport and at facilities can apply various stressors to lithium-ion batteries, increasing this risk.^[2] The California Prodcut Stewardship Council conducted a survey on fires at waste management facilities in 2018 and found that 40% of reported fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries.^[3] While evidence that lithium-ion batteries in vapes directly cause the fires experienced by refuse trucks and waste management facilities is difficult to come by, it is generally recognized that lithium-ion batteries have been responsible for some of these incidents and that vapes have the potential to ignite or explode.^3,[4],[5] State law requires vapes to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF), or other authorized hazardous waste facility.

Youth vaping. The use of vapes is prevalent amongst youth.^[6] In 2024, it was reported that over 1.6 million minors partake in vaping.^[7] In a state-wide survey of youth vaping in schools, of nearly 8,000 staff from 255 middle and high schools, 31.9% reported seeing students vaping at school.^[8] Vapes are said to be aggressively marketed to young people, as many vapes exhibit features that can be appealing to minors.^[9] There are a myriad of adverse physical and mental health impacts associated with vaping, and studies show that there is an increased risk for youth in developing these negative health outcomes.⁹ Additionally, vapes that were intended to target minors present additional waste management challenges. To combat the risk that these vapes pose to minors and waste management facilities, this bill would ban vapes that imitate a product that is not a vape to conceal its nature, as specified, and vapes that include interactive videogame capabilities.

Confiscation of vapes in schools. Because the use of tobacco products and controlled substances are prohibited at schools, school staff are expected to confiscate vapes from students. Because waste vapes are considered hazardous waste, the school becomes a generator of hazardous waste. Typically waste vapes are required to be disposed of at a HHWCF, however, because schools are not classified as “households” under federal regulation (40 CFR 261.4 (b)(1)), it is understood that schools cannot dispose of vapes at HHWCFs and must abide by federal regulations as a hazardous waste generator. When vapes are treated as hazardous waste instead of HHW, the required handling, transportation, storage, and management of that vape pen is more intensive than if it were classified as HHW.

The U.S. EPA has issued guidance for schools and businesses on how to safely dispose of e-cigarettes (vapes containing nicotine), and depending on the amount of vapes collected, designates the hazardous waste generator categories.^[10] While this information can serve as a resource for entities that may inevitably possess vapes, it can be very challenging and expensive for schools to manage the vapes they collect in this manner. Previous legislation (AB 998, Hadwick, 2025) would have authorized schools to transport and manage confiscated vapes as household hazardous waste (HHW), but it is possible that this would have conflicted with federal regulations. The bill was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Because it may be challenging for schools to manage vapes as hazardous waste, this bill requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities that increase the safety and convenience for schools that need to manage and dispose of vapes, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action. Floor amendments would authorize HHWCFs to accept 1 kilogram of acutely hazardous waste (which allows for the acceptance of nicotine vapes), exempt schools from hazardous waste registration and manifest requirements, and adds contingency provisions to include AB 762 (Irwin) prohibited vape products, as described, in the existing enforcement framework for prohibited flavored tobacco products. Floor amendments also remove the authorization for HHWCFs to disassemble vape pens.

Comments

Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) estimates ongoing costs of approximately $440,000 annually (Electronic Waste Recovery & Recycling Account) to evaluate opportunities for the collection and disposal of vapes confiscated from students by a school, identify legislative or regulatory recommendations, update its Permit by Rule regulation (which creates a process that allows generators of hazardous waste to treat certain wastes without having to go through the formal permitting process) to explicitly authorize vape disassembly, coordinate with and provide oversight to the state’s Certified Unified Program Agencies (who administer the Permit by Rule program at the local level), coordinate with U.S. EPA, and other associated tasks.
• The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) estimates ongoing costs ranging from $239,000 to $463,000 annually (Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund) to notify licensees of the vape product prohibition in this bill, seize and destroy newly prohibited vape products that do not fall under CDTFA’s existing authority for flavored tobacco products, suspend or revoke licenses, and handle appeals. CDTFA notes this bill may also result in a reduction in cannabis excise tax and cigarette and tobacco product tax revenues of an unknown amount due to a reduction in available vape products and an increase in untaxed black market sales of prohibited products, a reduction in electronic cigarette excise tax and sales and use tax revenues of an unknown amount due to seizures of prohibited vape products by enforcement agencies from tobacco retailers, and a reduction in licensing fee revenues due to an unknown number of suspensions or revocations of cigarette and tobacco products licenses for noncompliance with the vape product prohibition (Cannabis Tax Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Funds, General Fund, Local Revenue Fund 2011, Local Revenue Fund 1991, and Public Safety Fund).
• Forgone cannabis product license fee revenue as well as costs to the Department of Cannabis Control of an unknown but potentially significant amount (Cannabis Control Fund).
• The Department of Justice reports minor and absorbable costs.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/21/2026)

Rural County Representatives of California (Source)

A Voice for Choice Advocacy
Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
County of Santa Barbara
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Rethinkwaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Stopwaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Yuba-sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/21/2026)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/28/26

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Haney, Jackson, Quirk-Silva, Celeste Rodriguez

Prepared by: Taylor McKie / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108

8/24/26 10:57:07

**** END ****

1. Constantin, A. and Mihălțan, FD. (2025). E-Cigarette and Environment. ↑

2. Gausden, A. and Cerik, BC. (2024). Single-Use Vape Batteries: Investigating Their Potential as Ignition Sources in Waste and Recycling Streams. ↑

3. California Product Stewardship Council. (2018). Fire Incident Survey Results 4/9/18. ↑

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). An Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Fires in Waste Management and Recycling. ↑

5. U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions in the United States 2009-2016. ↑

6. Al-Oudah, G.A., et. al. (2025). E-cigarettes and Vaping: A New Frontier in Youth Drug Prevention. ↑

7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Sound the Alarm: Youth Vaping Can Harm. ↑

8. Cole, A.G., et. al. (2022). California School Staff Reports of Seeing Students Vaping at School and Disciplinary Actions. ↑

9. Golder, S., et. al. (2025). Vaping and harm in young people: umbrella review. ↑

10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses. ↑

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2667

Author: Hadwick (R) and Wicks (D), et al.

Amended: 6/25/26 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/17/26

AYES: Blakespear, Valladares, Allen, Dahle, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar

SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 10-0, 6/22/26

AYES: Wahab, Choi, Archuleta, Arreguín, Caballero, Menjivar, Niello, Richardson, Strickland, Umberg

NO VOTE RECORDED: Smallwood-Cuevas

SENATE REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE: 4-0, 6/24/26

AYES: McNerney, Ashby, Becker, Grayson

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alvarado-Gil

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/13/26

AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/28/26 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

SOURCE: Rural County Representatives of California

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of confiscated vape pens at a school; authorizes household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCF) to collect, transport, and mechanically disassemble vapes; and prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product appeals to minors, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law establishes the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to authorize the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to manage hazardous and non-hazardous wastes throughout the wastes’ life cycle. (42 United States Code (USC) §§ 6901 et seq.)

Existing state law:

1. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) to authorize DTSC to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §§ 25100 et seq.)
2. Defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:
   1. Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
   2. Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. (HSC § 25141(b))
3. Defines hazardous waste as a federal RCRA hazardous waste if it meets any of the following criteria:
   1. It exhibits any of the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity, as defined;
   2. It is listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulation; or
   3. It is identified as a hazardous waste under state regulation, as specified. (22 California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 66261.100)
4. Defines “household hazardous waste” (HHW) as hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, but does not include waste generated in the course of operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1(e))
5. Establishes that counties and cities will provide services for the collection of HHW and that the state will provide an expedited and streamlined regulatory structure to facilitate the collection of HHW. (HSC § 25218)
6. Requires a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF) to obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit, unless the HHWCF is a recycle-only facility that meets specified conditions. (HSC § 25218.8)
7. Enacts the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (EWRA), which established a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of video display devices, such as televisions and computer monitors that are hazardous waste when discarded. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §§ 42460 et seq.)
8. Adds battery-embedded products to the EWRA. (PRC § 42463)

This bill:

1. Authorizes a HHWCF to rely on federal guidance and other provisions for the management of acutely hazardous waste for the purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices are accepted from very small quantity generators.
2. Authorizes a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices from a school that were confiscated from students pursuant to an agreement between the school and local HHWCF.
3. Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with RCRA, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
4. Authorizes a permanent HHWCF to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials after consultation with the certified unified program agencies (CUPAs) and local fire authority.
5. Requires that the activities that apply to the mechanical disassembly of vape pens and devices are described in the operation plan and included in a permit-by-rule application, and that any personnel involved in the activities receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.
6. Defines “vape pen and device” to mean an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.
7. Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by doing either of the following:
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from adults, as specified; or
   2. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
8. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, and impose civil liability on a person or entity in violation of this section in the amount of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations.
9. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to impose civil liability on a distributor, as defined, who violates the prohibition on vape products, as specified, in the amount of $50,000 per violation
10. Requires any civil penalties collected to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General (AG), whichever office that brought the action.
11. Authorizes the penalties collected by the AG to be expended by the AG to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
12. Requires that any person in violation of these provisions is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.
13. Authorizes an enforcement agency to seize a product at a retail location or any other person’s location and for that product to be deemed forfeited to the state if the enforcement agency discovers that a tobacco retailer or any of its agents or employees sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a vape product prohibited by these provisions.
14. Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products of any person with a license who is in violation of these provisions upon a second seizure and forfeiture and revoke a license upon a third seizure and forfeiture.

Background

1. Vapes as hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at an authorized recycling facility.

Vapes are handheld, single-use or reusable electronic devices, typically powered by lithium-ion batteries, that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products. Vapes are known to carry and emit a variety of harmful substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, aldehydes, carbon monoxide, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).^[1] Vapes are considered hazardous waste under RCRA at their end of life due to both the corrosive properties of the embedded lithium-ion battery and the residual substances in the cartridge if filled with liquid nicotine. Liquid nicotine is considered to be acutely hazardous, thus more stringent requirements for management apply. For vapes containing cannabis products, residue left in the cartridges is considered hazardous waste under California law.

When improperly disposed of, vapes can release these hazardous substances into the environment. The embedded lithium-ion batteries may also pose a fire or explosion risk when damaged. The processes associated with solid waste collection, recycling and disposal during transport and at facilities can apply various stressors to lithium-ion batteries, increasing this risk.^[2] The California Prodcut Stewardship Council conducted a survey on fires at waste management facilities in 2018 and found that 40% of reported fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries.^[3] While evidence that lithium-ion batteries in vapes directly cause the fires experienced by refuse trucks and waste management facilities is difficult to come by, it is generally recognized that lithium-ion batteries have been responsible for some of these incidents and that vapes have the potential to ignite or explode.^3,[4],[5]

1. The challenges of managing waste vapes. Many common household products are hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become household hazardous waste (HHW). In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a HHW Program. Most HHW programs and facilities are run by local government agencies such as cities or counties. State law requires vapes to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF), or other authorized hazardous waste facility. Currently, HHWCFs are not authorized to separate the components of vapes, as disassembly would be considered a form of treatment. This, however, can make managing vapes extremely expensive as the vape would need to be managed as one unit and with the most stringent requirements due to the most hazardous components within the vape. This bill would authorize HHWCFs to mechanically disassemble vapes after consultation with the respective certified unified program agency (CUPA) and the local fire authority. Enacting this authority would create system efficiencies in hazardous waste management and reduce costs for HHWCFs and their respective local agencies.

1. Youth vaping. The use of vapes is prevalent amongst youth.^[6] In 2024, it was reported that over 1.6 million minors partake in vaping.^[7] In a state-wide survey of youth vaping in schools, of nearly 8,000 staff from 255 middle and high schools, 31.9% reported seeing students vaping at school.^[8] Vapes are said to be aggressively marketed to young people, as many vapes exhibit features that can be appealing to minors.^[9] There are a myriad of adverse physical and mental health impacts associated with vaping, and studies show that there is an increased risk for youth in developing these negative health outcomes.⁹ Additionally, vapes that were intended to target minors present additional waste management challenges. To combat the risk that these vapes pose to minors and waste management facilities, this bill would ban vapes that imitate a product that is not a vape to conceal its nature, as specified, and vapes that include interactive videogame capabilities.

1. Confiscation of vapes in schools. Because the use of tobacco products and controlled substances are prohibited at schools, school staff are expected to confiscate vapes from students. Because waste vapes are considered hazardous waste, the school becomes a generator of hazardous waste. Typically waste vapes are required to be disposed of at a HHWCF, however, because schools are not classified as “households” under federal regulation (40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 261.4 (b)(1)), it is understood that schools cannot dispose of vapes at HHWCFs and must abide by federal regulations as a hazardous waste generator. When vapes are treated as hazardous waste instead of HHW, the required handling, transportation, storage, and management of that vape pen is more intensive than if it were classified as HHW.

The U.S. EPA has issued guidance for schools and businesses on how to safely dispose of e-cigarettes (vapes containing nicotine), and depending on the amount of vapes collected, designates the hazardous waste generator categories.^[10] While this information can serve as a resource for entities that may inevitably possess vapes, it can be very challenging and expensive for schools to manage the vapes they collect in this manner. Previous legislation (AB 998, Hadwick, 2025) would have authorized schools to transport and manage confiscated vapes as household hazardous waste (HHW), but it is possible that this would have conflicted with federal regulations. AB 998 was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Because it may be challenging for schools to manage vapes as hazardous waste, this bill requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities that increase the safety and convenience for schools that need to manage and dispose of vapes, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.

Comments

1. Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) estimates ongoing costs of approximately $440,000 annually (Electronic Waste Recovery & Recycling Account) to evaluate opportunities for the collection and disposal of vapes confiscated from students by a school, identify legislative or regulatory recommendations, update its Permit by Rule regulation (which creates a process that allows generators of hazardous waste to treat certain wastes without having to go through the formal permitting process) to explicitly authorize vape disassembly, coordinate with and provide oversight to the state’s Certified Unified Program Agencies (who administer the Permit by Rule program at the local level), coordinate with U.S. EPA, and other associated tasks.
• The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) estimates ongoing costs ranging from $239,000 to $463,000 annually (Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund) to notify licensees of the vape product prohibition in this bill, seize and destroy newly prohibited vape products that do not fall under CDTFA’s existing authority for flavored tobacco products, suspend or revoke licenses, and handle appeals. CDTFA notes this bill may also result in a reduction in cannabis excise tax and cigarette and tobacco product tax revenues of an unknown amount due to a reduction in available vape products and an increase in untaxed black market sales of prohibited products, a reduction in electronic cigarette excise tax and sales and use tax revenues of an unknown amount due to seizures of prohibited vape products by enforcement agencies from tobacco retailers, and a reduction in licensing fee revenues due to an unknown number of suspensions or revocations of cigarette and tobacco products licenses for noncompliance with the vape product prohibition (Cannabis Tax Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Funds, General Fund, Local Revenue Fund 2011, Local Revenue Fund 1991, and Public Safety Fund).
• Forgone cannabis product license fee revenue as well as costs to the Department of Cannabis Control of an unknown but potentially significant amount (Cannabis Control Fund).
• The Department of Justice reports minor and absorbable costs.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/13/26)

Rural County Representatives of California (Source)

A Voice for Choice Advocacy
Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
County of Santa Barbara
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Rethinkwaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Stopwaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Yuba-sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/13/26)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/28/26

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Chen, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ramos, Ransom, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Haney, Jackson, Quirk-Silva, Celeste Rodriguez

Prepared by: Taylor McKie / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108

8/14/26 14:20:58

**** END ****

1. Constantin, A. and Mihălțan, FD. (2025). E-Cigarette and Environment. ↑

2. Gausden, A. and Cerik, BC. (2024). Single-Use Vape Batteries: Investigating Their Potential as Ignition Sources in Waste and Recycling Streams. ↑

3. California Product Stewardship Council. (2018). Fire Incident Survey Results 4/9/18. ↑

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). An Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Fires in Waste Management and Recycling. ↑

5. U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions in the United States 2009-2016. ↑

6. Al-Oudah, G.A., et. al. (2025). E-cigarettes and Vaping: A New Frontier in Youth Drug Prevention. ↑

7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Sound the Alarm: Youth Vaping Can Harm. ↑

8. Cole, A.G., et. al. (2022). California School Staff Reports of Seeing Students Vaping at School and Disciplinary Actions. ↑

9. Golder, S., et. al. (2025). Vaping and harm in young people: umbrella review. ↑

10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses. ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

AB 2667 (Hadwick) - Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

Bill Summary:

This bill would prohibit the sale, distribution, and advertising of vape products in this state that imitate a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, among other changes.

Fiscal Impact:

• The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) estimates ongoing costs of approximately $440,000 annually (Electronic Waste Recovery & Recycling Account) to evaluate opportunities for the collection and disposal of vapes confiscated from students by a school, identify legislative or regulatory recommendations, update its Permit by Rule regulation (which creates a process that allows generators of hazardous waste to treat certain wastes without having to go through the formal permitting process) to explicitly authorize vape disassembly, coordinate with and provide oversight to the state’s Certified Unified Program Agencies (who administer the Permit by Rule program at the local level), coordinate with U.S. EPA, and other associated tasks.
• The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) estimates ongoing costs ranging from $239,000 to $463,000 annually (Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund) to notify licensees of the vape product prohibition in this bill, seize and destroy newly prohibited vape products that do not fall under CDTFA’s existing authority for flavored tobacco products, suspend or revoke licenses, and handle appeals. CDTFA notes this bill may also result in a reduction in cannabis excise tax and cigarette and tobacco product tax revenues of an unknown amount due to a reduction in available vape products and an increase in untaxed black market sales of prohibited products, a reduction in electronic cigarette excise tax and sales and use tax revenues of an unknown amount due to seizures of prohibited vape products by enforcement agencies from tobacco retailers, and a reduction in licensing fee revenues due to an unknown number of suspensions or revocations of cigarette and tobacco products licenses for noncompliance with the vape product prohibition (Cannabis Tax Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Funds, General Fund, Local Revenue Fund 2011, Local Revenue Fund 1991, and Public Safety Fund).
• Forgone cannabis product license fee revenue as well as costs to the Department of Cannabis Control of an unknown but potentially significant amount (Cannabis Control Fund).
• The Department of Justice reports minor and absorbable costs.

Background:

Cannabis licensing. Federal law lists cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, prohibiting its manufacture, possession, sale, or distribution. California voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, protecting qualified patients and primary caregivers from prosecution for possessing or cultivating medical cannabis on a physician's recommendation. The industry remained largely unregulated at the state level until the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act in 2015. Voters then approved Proposition 64 in November 2016, legalizing commercial adult-use cannabis for adults 21 and older, and SB 94 (Committee on Budget & Fiscal Review, 2017) merged the two frameworks into the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), consolidating licensure across more than 20 license categories. The framework is a closed system: every part of the supply chain requires licensure, commercial activity may occur only between licensees, and only licensed retailers may sell to consumers. MAUCRSA excluded industrial hemp, which generally cannot be integrated into the cannabis supply chain.

Tobacco products licensing. The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act (AB 71, Horton, 2003) requires manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers to hold and annually renew a license, administered by CDTFA since AB 102 (Committee on Budget, 2017). Selling without a valid license, or after suspension or revocation, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000, up to one year in county jail, or both. Retailers hold one of two license types depending on whether their products are subject to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax; the second covers retailers of electronic delivery devices not containing nicotine and accessories such as zero-nicotine vaporized liquids. AB 573 (Rogers) raised retailer license fees from $265 to $450 for licenses applied for on or after July 1, 2026, and allows CDTFA to raise the fee by regulation up to $600 as needed to maintain the Compliance Fund. CDTFA may suspend a license for a first violation and must revoke on a second, with at least ten days' written notice and an opportunity to appeal, and retailers may reapply six months after revocation.

License fees, penalties, and fines support CDTFA's compliance work — roughly 3,318 annual inspections across approximately 29,000 licensed retail locations — deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products License Fund. CDTFA may seize unstamped cigarette packages, which are then forfeited to the state.

Flavored tobacco ban. SB 793 (Hill, 2020) banned most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes, and voters upheld it through Proposition 31 (2022), with violations punishable as infractions carrying a $250 fine. Three enforcement bills followed: AB 935 (Connolly, 2024), authorizing civil penalties and requiring CDTFA to impose a $250 penalty and suspend or revoke licenses on a third, fourth, or fifth violation; AB 3218 (Wood, 2024), creating the Attorney General's Unflavored Tobacco List and authorizing seizures, $50-per-package penalties, suspension on a second violation, and revocation on a third; and SB 1230 (Rubio), providing similar seizure authority. In 2025, CDTFA performed 648 seizures of 809,513 products with a retail value of $8.5 million and expects to issue approximately $40 million in penalties.

Tobacco taxation. Cigarettes are taxed at $2.87 per pack of 20, collected through stamps distributors purchase from CDTFA. The rate combines a $0.10 base tax in place since 1967 with four dedicated measures: Proposition 99 (1988, $0.25), AB 478 (Friedman, 1993, $0.02 for breast cancer research), Proposition 10 (1998, $0.50 for First 5 programs), and Proposition 56 (2016, $2.00), which also extended the definition of tobacco products to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and liquids. Other tobacco products are taxed at an equivalent rate set by CDTFA, currently 51.08% of wholesale cost for 2025-26. Separately, the HOPE Act (SB 395, Caballero, 2021) imposed the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax at 12.5% of the retail price of nicotine e-cigarettes, levied on purchasers but collected by retailers, including out-of-state sellers.

Hazardous waste regulation. DTSC oversees the state's management of hazardous waste — waste that causes or significantly contributes to increased mortality or serious illness, or poses a substantial hazard to human health or the environment when improperly managed. Common household products including batteries and electronic wastes become household hazardous waste when discarded, and cannot be placed in the trash, poured down the drain, or abandoned. Cities and counties must provide collection services, and facilities processing this waste must obtain a permit unless they accept only specified materials.

Vape products disguised as other items frustrate parents and educators, as well as local agencies responsible for disposing of them. The Rural County Representatives of California want to ban such products and erect an enforcement infrastructure, among other changes.

Proposed Law:

This bill would:

1. Prohibit a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by:
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal its nature from parents, teachers, or other adults, including by imitating a food or brand of food product commonly marketed to minors such as candy, desserts, and beverages; imitating school supplies commonly used by minors such as erasers, highlighters, pens, and pencils; or constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors.
   2. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
2. Authorize a city, county, city and county, or the state to enforce that prohibition and impose civil liability of $1,000 for a first violation, $2,500 for a second, and $5,000 for a third and subsequent violations, and to impose civil liability of $50,000 per violation on a distributor, defined as any person who sells or accepts orders for prohibited products to a retailer.
   1. Require penalties collected to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General that brought the action, with Attorney General penalties expendable upon appropriation to enforce the section.
   2. Provide that these remedies would not be exclusive and would be in addition to remedies available under the Unfair Competition Law.
3. Make a violation an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.
4. Authorize an enforcement agency that discovers a tobacco retailer or its agents or employees selling, offering for sale, or possessing with intent to sell a prohibited vape product to seize that product at the retail location or any other person's location, and deem the product forfeited subject to existing forfeiture procedures.
5. Extend CDTFA's existing flavored tobacco enforcement structure to vape products prohibited under the new section, including seizure at retail or other locations, forfeiture, a $50 civil penalty per individual package, license suspension on a second seizure and forfeiture, and license revocation on a third, and define "vape product" by reference to "electronic cigarette" in Revenue and Taxation Code §30121.
6. Authorize inspections at any place where evidence of a violation of the new section may be discovered, alongside the existing authority for Health and Safety Code §§104559.1 and 104559.5.
7. Establish parameters for household hazardous waste collection facilities determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted from a very small quantity generator (VSQG) without exceeding existing weight limits, providing that:
   1. A facility may rely on U.S. EPA guidance entitled "How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses" unless DTSC withdraws or replaces that guidance or issues its own.
   2. For the extremely hazardous waste threshold, nonacutely hazardous waste may be counted separately from acutely hazardous waste contained in the devices.
   3. The amount of acutely hazardous waste in a vape pen and device is presumed not to exceed the maximum capacity of its cartridge, unless a VSQG or facility determines otherwise.
8. Authorize a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices confiscated from students, pursuant to an agreement between the school and a local household hazardous waste collection facility, in containers clearly bearing the school's EPA identification number and subject to existing quantity limits.
9. Authorize a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility, after consultation with the certified unified program agency (CUPA) and local fire authority, to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases without unauthorized release of hazardous materials, provided the activities are described in the facility's operation plan and included in a permit-by-rule application, and personnel receive adequate training.
10. Require DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience in managing and disposing of vape pens and devices confiscated from students, ensure consistency with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and identify recommendations requiring future legislative action, with the section repealed January 1, 2030.
11. Provide that no state reimbursement is required.

Related Legislation:

AB 762 (Irwin, 2026) would ban the use of disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices.

SB 1124 (Archuleta, 2026) would require the CDPH to develop signage for lung cancer screening and would require licensed tobacco retailers to display the signage or be subject to a civil penalty.

SB 1314 (Menjivar, 2026) would enact the Youth Over Smoke Act, limiting the location and operation of smoke shops, as defined.

Staff Comments:

DTSC received $3.1 million and 9 positions in 2026-27 for Safer Consumer Products mandates under AB 347, AB 2515, and SB 1266, plus $216,000 and 1 position from the Covered Battery Recycling Fund for AB 2440 administration — but nothing for household hazardous waste program work of the kind this bill would add. And the Legislature preserved 75.1 vacant FTEs and $10.6 million in special funds at DTSC by rejecting the Governor's vacancy eliminations, which bears on whether the evaluation could be absorbed.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION

Senator Jerry McNerney, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

Prohibits the sale, distribution, and advertising of vape products in this state that imitate a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, among other changes.

Background

Federal law relating to cannabis. Federal law prohibits the manufacture, possession, sale, or distribution of cannabis. In 1970, Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which sets forth five schedules of specified drugs. For a drug to be designated a Schedule I controlled substance, CSA states the substance must have “a high potential for abuse,” and have “no currently accepted medical use” in the United States. Federal law lists cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Cannabis licensing. In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA). Under CUA, qualified patients with specified illnesses, and their primary caregivers, cannot be prosecuted for possessing or cultivating medical cannabis upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of an attending physician.

The medical cannabis industry remained largely unregulated at the state level until 2015, when the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA). MMRSA comprised a package of legislation that comprehensively regulated many aspects of the medicinal use of cannabis, including cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, sale, and product safety. In 2016, several bills made slight changes to MMRSA, including renaming MMRSA the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act.

On November 8, 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64 (Prop. 64), the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which legalized commercial adult-use cannabis for adults age 21 and older. The Act allows for the licensure and regulation of both commercial adult-use and medicinal use cannabis activities by various state agencies.

Less than a year later, in June 2017, the Legislature enacted SB 94 (Committee on Budget & Fiscal Review), which integrated MMRSA with the Act to create the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). Among other things, MAUCRSA consolidated the licensure and regulation of both commercial adult-use and medicinal use cannabis activities. It established a system of over 20 license categories, which include distributor, retailer, and microbusiness, among others.

The commercial cannabis regulatory framework is a closed system with each portion of the supply chain requiring licensure. Commercial cannabis activity may only be conducted between licensees, and only licensed cannabis retail businesses can make cannabis sales to consumers. MAUCRSA excluded industrial hemp, so it generally cannot currently be integrated into the cannabis supply chain.

Tobacco Products Licensing. In 2003, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act (AB 71, Horton, 2003) required the Board of Equalization (BOE) to license manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products who are engaged in business in California. In 2017, the Legislature enacted AB 102 (Committee on Budget), which transferred duties, powers, and responsibilities related to the administration of taxes and fees from BOE to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). CDTFA also administers the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax.

Under the Licensing Act, retailers, distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and importers must have and maintain a license. A person or entity that engages in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products in this state either without a valid license or after a license suspension or revocation, and each officer of any corporation that so engages in this business, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, or both.

For retailers, there are two kinds of licenses: one for those who sell tobacco products subject to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax, and one for those whose products are not subject to that tax, such as retailers of electronic delivery devices not containing or sold with nicotine and certain accessories, such as zero-nicotine vaporized liquids. Licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed annually. Last year, the Legislature increased license fees on both sets of tobacco retailers from $265 to $450, for new or renewed licenses applied for on or after July 1, 2026 (AB 573, Rogers). AB 573 also permits CDTFA to increase the license fee, by regulation, to an amount necessary to maintain the Compliance Fund to cover its reasonable costs, not to exceed $600.

CDTFA may suspend a retailer’s license under the Licensing Act or the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law for a first or subsequent license violation. CDTFA must provide a tobacco product licensee with at least ten days’ written notice of a pending suspension or revocation and an opportunity to appeal. Upon a second violation, CDTFA must revoke the license; however, retailers can reapply six months after revocation.

Funds from license fees, along with penalties and fines, are deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products License Fund, which pays for CDTFA’s compliance efforts. These compliance efforts include regular inspections of businesses selling cigarettes and tobacco products, including retailers, wholesalers, and distributors, to ensure compliance with cigarette and tobacco product tax and licensing laws. Approximately 29,000 cigarette and tobacco product retail locations are licensed to sell cigarettes and tobacco products in California. CDTFA annually conducts about 3,318 inspections of licensed cigarette and tobacco product retailers to ensure compliance with the Licensing Act and applicable tax laws. When CDTFA discovers that a retailer, or any of its agents or employees, sells or offers to sell unstamped cigarette packages, it can seize the packages. (Similar authority exists for CDTFA to seize cannabis products under specified circumstances). When seized, the law treats the products as forfeited to the state.

Flavored Tobacco Ban. In 2020, the Legislature prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes, as well as tobacco product flavor enhancers, in retail locations, including stores and vending machines (SB 793, Hill). Voters upheld the ban in a referendum measure (Proposition 31, 2022). SB 793 provided that violations were punishable as infractions, with a fine of $250 per violation. The Legislature subsequently enacted three bills to enforce the ban, among other compliance measures.

• AB 935 (Connolly, 2024) made violations of the ban enforceable by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and other enforcing agencies through the imposition of civil penalties. AB 935 also required CDTFA, upon notification by CDPH, to impose a $250 civil penalty and suspend or revoke a retailer’s cigarette and tobacco products license upon a third, fourth, or fifth violation
• AB 3218 (Wood, 2024) requires the California Attorney General to establish and maintain on its website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, known as the “Unflavored Tobacco List,” and deemed a product not on the list a flavored tobacco product for purposes of the ban. AB 3218 also allowed CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize flavored tobacco products from the retailer or wholesaler, issue civil penalties of $50 per package, and suspend licenses on the second violation, or revoke them on a third violation.
• SB 1230 (Rubio) contained similar authority for CDTFA to seize products. In 2025, CDTFA performed 648 seizures of 809,513 products with a retail value of $8.5 million. CDTFA expects to issue approximately $40 million in penalties.

The California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law. The California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax of $2.87 per package of 20 cigarettes. Distributors pay the tax by purchasing tax stamps from CDTFA, which are then affixed to a cigarette package. While a base tax rate of $0.10 per pack of 20 cigarettes has been in place since 1967, with revenue flowing to the General Fund, the Legislature and voters have adopted four tobacco tax measures directing revenue for specific programs:

• In 1988, voters approved Proposition 99, which imposed a surtax of $0.25 cents per package and created an equivalent tax on tobacco products. Proceeds from the tax fund health education, disease research, hospital care, fire prevention, and environmental conservation.
• Assembly Bill 478 (Friedman, 1993) added an excise tax of $0.02 per packet of 20 cigarettes for breast cancer research and early detection services.
• In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 10, which imposed an additional surtax of $0.50 per pack and created a proportionately larger increase in the tax on tobacco products. The revenues are used to fund early childhood development programs, often called “First 5.”
• In 2016, voters approved Proposition 56, which imposed an additional surtax of $2 per pack and expanded the definition of “tobacco products” to include electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, when sold in combination with nicotine for a single price, and liquids containing nicotine used in those products. The additional tax revenues are deposited into the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 Fund, which is used to backfill revenue losses for the above programs that result from reduced consumption due to the increased tax rate. Currently, $40 million each year in Prop. 56 funds is appropriated to the University of California to increase the number of primary care and emergency physicians trained in California, specifically to sustain, retain, and expand graduate medical education programs to achieve the goal of increasing the number of primary care and emergency physicians in the State of California based on demonstrated workforce needs and priorities.

Other tobacco products (OTP) are subject to the above taxes, but unlike cigarettes, do not come in packs of 20. CDTFA determines the OTP rate by dividing the tax rate imposed on cigarettes by the average wholesale cost of cigarettes, currently 51.08% for 2025-26. Tobacco products distributors calculate tax due by applying the tobacco products tax rate to the wholesale cost of OTP distributed in California.

E-Cigarette Tax. In 2021, the Legislature enacted the Healthy Outcomes and Prevention Education (HOPE Act), which imposed the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax (CECET) at the rate of 12.5% of the retail selling price of electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine (SB 395, Caballero). The tax is imposed on purchasers, but must be collected and remitted by retailers, including out-of-state sellers, and is included in addition to the sales and use tax. SB 395 programmed funds to fund essential safety net services and provide grants to students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursuing an education in the health field to combat the long-term negative impacts of tobacco products.

Hazardous Waste Regulation. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is responsible for protecting public health and the environment by overseeing the state’s management of hazardous waste and response to releases of hazardous substances. Current law defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:

• Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or,
• Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Additionally, many common household products are also hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become “household hazardous waste,” such as antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, persons cannot dispose of this waste in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a Household Hazardous Waste Program. Cities and counties must provide services for the collection of these wastes. Facilities processing household hazardous waste must obtain a permit for the operation of a household hazardous waste collection facility, unless it only accepts specified materials.

Vape products disguised as other items frustrate parents and educators, as well as local agencies responsible for disposing of them. The Rural County Representatives of California want to ban such products and erect an enforcement infrastructure, among other changes.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 2667 bars a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state that imitates a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, specifically:

• Imitating a food or brand of food product commonly marketed to minors, including candy, desserts, and beverages.
• Imitating school supplies commonly used by minors, including erasers, highlighters, pens, and pencils.
• Constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors.

Local agencies can enforce the ban by imposing civil liability on a person or entity in violation of the ban of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations. Local agencies or the state may impose civil liability on a distributor who violates this section in the amount of $50,000 per violation.

Civil penalties must be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action. Those in violation of the ban are also guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

CDTFA must also revoke or suspend the license of a tobacco retailer upon a second violation of the ban. The bill adds authority similar to unstamped cigarettes and untaxed cannabis for either department to seize vape products that violate the bill’s prohibition.

The bill provides that the above penalties are in addition to other penalties prescribed by law, or other remedies under the state’s unfair competition law. State agency costs are also recoverable by the Attorney General from the person violating the ban.

The bill also makes the following changes for household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCFs):

• Authorizes an HHWCF to rely on federal guidance and other provisions for the management of acutely hazardous waste for the purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices are accepted from very small quantity generators.
• Authorizes a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices from a school that were confiscated from students pursuant to an agreement between the school and local HHWCF.
• Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
• Authorizes a permanent HHWCF to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials after consultation with the certified unified program agency s and local fire authority.
• Requires that the activities that apply to the mechanical disassembly of vape pens and devices are described in the operation plan and included in a permit-by-rule application, and that any personnel involved in the activities receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.

State Revenue Impact

According to CDTFA, “Loss of California electronic cigarette excise tax, Cigarette and Tobacco Products taxes, cannabis excise tax, sales and use tax, and licensing fee revenues of an unknown amount due to reduced legal sales of prohibited vape products and increased license suspension and revocation.”

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children.  These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing.  Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games.  Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them.  Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards. Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes.  It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste.  This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”

2. Enforcement. AB 2667 currently authorizes local agencies to impose civil penalties on advertisers, sellers, and distributors of banned products, and CDTFA can revoke or suspend a retail tobacco license upon violation of the bill’s provisions. However, CDTFA’s tobacco inspection program results in more than 3,000 physical inspections of tobacco retailers each year. Additionally, CDTFA has authority to seize unstamped cigarettes, flavored tobacco, and cannabis products that haven’t been entered into the Track and Trace system or are being offered for sale by an unlicensed retailer. The Committee may wish to consider adding similar authority for CDTFA to enhance enforcement and compliance.

3. Related legislation. The Committee will also consider AB 762 (Irwin) at its 6/24 hearing, which bans the use of disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices. Earlier this year, the Committee and the Senate approved two measures that also expanded CDTFA’s enforcement of the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act:

• SB 1124 (Archuleta), which requires the CDPH to develop signage for lung cancer screening and requires licensed tobacco retailers to display the signage or be subject to a civil penalty. The measure is currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee.
• SB 1314 (Menjivar), which enacts the Youth Over Smoke Act, which limits the location and operation of smoke shops, as defined. The measure is currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee.

4. Triple-referred. The Committee on Environmental Quality approved AB 2667 by a vote of 7 to 0 on June 17^th. The Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development approved the bill on June 22^nd by a vote of 10 to 0. The Committee on Revenue & Taxation is considering the measure as the committee of third reference.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee: 7-0
Assembly Business & Professions Committee: 19-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 15-0
Assembly Floor: 76-0

Support and Opposition

(6/22/26)

Support: A Voice for Choice Advocacy
Alameda County Office of Education
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association of California School Administrators
Breathe California
Breathe Southern California
California Cannabis Operators Association
California Optometric Association
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
City of Sunnyvale
County of Santa Barbara
County of Shasta
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Recyclesmart
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
RethinkWaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Rural County Representatives of California
StopWaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Yuba-Sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

Opposition: None received.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON REVENUE AND TAXATION

Senator Jerry McNerney, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

Prohibits the sale, distribution, and advertising of vape products in this state that imitate a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, among other changes.

Background

Federal law relating to cannabis. Federal law prohibits the manufacture, possession, sale, or distribution of cannabis. In 1970, Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which sets forth five schedules of specified drugs. For a drug to be designated a Schedule I controlled substance, CSA states the substance must have “a high potential for abuse,” and have “no currently accepted medical use” in the United States. Federal law lists cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Cannabis licensing. In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA). Under CUA, qualified patients with specified illnesses, and their primary caregivers, cannot be prosecuted for possessing or cultivating medical cannabis upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of an attending physician.

The medical cannabis industry remained largely unregulated at the state level until 2015, when the Legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA). MMRSA comprised a package of legislation that comprehensively regulated many aspects of the medicinal use of cannabis, including cultivation, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, sale, and product safety. In 2016, several bills made slight changes to MMRSA, including renaming MMRSA the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act.

On November 8, 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64 (Prop. 64), the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which legalized commercial adult-use cannabis for adults age 21 and older. The Act allows for the licensure and regulation of both commercial adult-use and medicinal use cannabis activities by various state agencies.

Less than a year later, in June 2017, the Legislature enacted SB 94 (Committee on Budget & Fiscal Review), which integrated MMRSA with the Act to create the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA). Among other things, MAUCRSA consolidated the licensure and regulation of both commercial adult-use and medicinal use cannabis activities. It established a system of over 20 license categories, which include distributor, retailer, and microbusiness, among others.

The commercial cannabis regulatory framework is a closed system with each portion of the supply chain requiring licensure. Commercial cannabis activity may only be conducted between licensees, and only licensed cannabis retail businesses can make cannabis sales to consumers. MAUCRSA excluded industrial hemp, so it generally cannot currently be integrated into the cannabis supply chain.

Tobacco Products Licensing. In 2003, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act (AB 71, Horton, 2003) required the Board of Equalization (BOE) to license manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers of cigarette or tobacco products who are engaged in business in California. In 2017, the Legislature enacted AB 102 (Committee on Budget), which transferred duties, powers, and responsibilities related to the administration of taxes and fees from BOE to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). CDTFA also administers the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax.

Under the Licensing Act, retailers, distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, and importers must have and maintain a license. A person or entity that engages in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products in this state either without a valid license or after a license suspension or revocation, and each officer of any corporation that so engages in this business, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, or both.

For retailers, there are two kinds of licenses: one for those who sell tobacco products subject to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax, and one for those whose products are not subject to that tax, such as retailers of electronic delivery devices not containing or sold with nicotine and certain accessories, such as zero-nicotine vaporized liquids. Licenses are valid for one year and must be renewed annually. Last year, the Legislature increased license fees on both sets of tobacco retailers from $265 to $450, for new or renewed licenses applied for on or after July 1, 2026 (AB 573, Rogers). AB 573 also permits CDTFA to increase the license fee, by regulation, to an amount necessary to maintain the Compliance Fund to cover its reasonable costs, not to exceed $600.

CDTFA may suspend a retailer’s license under the Licensing Act or the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law for a first or subsequent license violation. CDTFA must provide a tobacco product licensee with at least ten days’ written notice of a pending suspension or revocation and an opportunity to appeal. Upon a second violation, CDTFA must revoke the license; however, retailers can reapply six months after revocation.

Funds from license fees, along with penalties and fines, are deposited into the Cigarette and Tobacco Products License Fund, which pays for CDTFA’s compliance efforts. These compliance efforts include regular inspections of businesses selling cigarettes and tobacco products, including retailers, wholesalers, and distributors, to ensure compliance with cigarette and tobacco product tax and licensing laws. Approximately 29,000 cigarette and tobacco product retail locations are licensed to sell cigarettes and tobacco products in California. CDTFA annually conducts about 3,318 inspections of licensed cigarette and tobacco product retailers to ensure compliance with the Licensing Act and applicable tax laws. When CDTFA discovers that a retailer, or any of its agents or employees, sells or offers to sell unstamped cigarette packages, it can seize the packages. (Similar authority exists for CDTFA to seize cannabis products under specified circumstances). When seized, the law treats the products as forfeited to the state.

Flavored Tobacco Ban. In 2020, the Legislature prohibited the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes, as well as tobacco product flavor enhancers, in retail locations, including stores and vending machines (SB 793, Hill). Voters upheld the ban in a referendum measure (Proposition 31, 2022). SB 793 provided that violations were punishable as infractions, with a fine of $250 per violation. The Legislature subsequently enacted three bills to enforce the ban, among other compliance measures.

• AB 935 (Connolly, 2024) made violations of the ban enforceable by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and other enforcing agencies through the imposition of civil penalties. AB 935 also required CDTFA, upon notification by CDPH, to impose a $250 civil penalty and suspend or revoke a retailer’s cigarette and tobacco products license upon a third, fourth, or fifth violation
• AB 3218 (Wood, 2024) requires the California Attorney General to establish and maintain on its website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, known as the “Unflavored Tobacco List,” and deemed a product not on the list a flavored tobacco product for purposes of the ban. AB 3218 also allowed CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize flavored tobacco products from the retailer or wholesaler, issue civil penalties of $50 per package, and suspend licenses on the second violation, or revoke them on a third violation.
• SB 1230 (Rubio) contained similar authority for CDTFA to seize products. In 2025, CDTFA performed 648 seizures of 809,513 products with a retail value of $8.5 million. CDTFA expects to issue approximately $40 million in penalties.

The California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law. The California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law imposes a tax of $2.87 per package of 20 cigarettes. Distributors pay the tax by purchasing tax stamps from CDTFA, which are then affixed to a cigarette package. While a base tax rate of $0.10 per pack of 20 cigarettes has been in place since 1967, with revenue flowing to the General Fund, the Legislature and voters have adopted four tobacco tax measures directing revenue for specific programs:

• In 1988, voters approved Proposition 99, which imposed a surtax of $0.25 cents per package and created an equivalent tax on tobacco products. Proceeds from the tax fund health education, disease research, hospital care, fire prevention, and environmental conservation.
• Assembly Bill 478 (Friedman, 1993) added an excise tax of $0.02 per packet of 20 cigarettes for breast cancer research and early detection services.
• In 1998, California voters approved Proposition 10, which imposed an additional surtax of $0.50 per pack and created a proportionately larger increase in the tax on tobacco products. The revenues are used to fund early childhood development programs, often called “First 5.”
• In 2016, voters approved Proposition 56, which imposed an additional surtax of $2 per pack and expanded the definition of “tobacco products” to include electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, when sold in combination with nicotine for a single price, and liquids containing nicotine used in those products. The additional tax revenues are deposited into the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of 2016 Fund, which is used to backfill revenue losses for the above programs that result from reduced consumption due to the increased tax rate. Currently, $40 million each year in Prop. 56 funds is appropriated to the University of California to increase the number of primary care and emergency physicians trained in California, specifically to sustain, retain, and expand graduate medical education programs to achieve the goal of increasing the number of primary care and emergency physicians in the State of California based on demonstrated workforce needs and priorities.

Other tobacco products (OTP) are subject to the above taxes, but unlike cigarettes, do not come in packs of 20. CDTFA determines the OTP rate by dividing the tax rate imposed on cigarettes by the average wholesale cost of cigarettes, currently 51.08% for 2025-26. Tobacco products distributors calculate tax due by applying the tobacco products tax rate to the wholesale cost of OTP distributed in California.

E-Cigarette Tax. In 2021, the Legislature enacted the Healthy Outcomes and Prevention Education (HOPE Act), which imposed the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax (CECET) at the rate of 12.5% of the retail selling price of electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine (SB 395, Caballero). The tax is imposed on purchasers, but must be collected and remitted by retailers, including out-of-state sellers, and is included in addition to the sales and use tax. SB 395 programmed funds to fund essential safety net services and provide grants to students from disadvantaged backgrounds pursuing an education in the health field to combat the long-term negative impacts of tobacco products.

Hazardous Waste Regulation. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is responsible for protecting public health and the environment by overseeing the state’s management of hazardous waste and response to releases of hazardous substances. Current law defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:

• Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or,
• Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Additionally, many common household products are also hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become “household hazardous waste,” such as antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, persons cannot dispose of this waste in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a Household Hazardous Waste Program. Cities and counties must provide services for the collection of these wastes. Facilities processing household hazardous waste must obtain a permit for the operation of a household hazardous waste collection facility, unless it only accepts specified materials.

Vape products disguised as other items frustrate parents and educators, as well as local agencies responsible for disposing of them. The Rural County Representatives of California want to ban such products and erect an enforcement infrastructure, among other changes.

Proposed Law

Assembly Bill 2667 bars a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state that imitates a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, specifically:

• Imitating a food or brand of food product commonly marketed to minors, including candy, desserts, and beverages.
• Imitating school supplies commonly used by minors, including erasers, highlighters, pens, and pencils.
• Constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors.

The bill bars persons from branding a product in a way that is known to appeal to minors, including branding based on or depicting a character, personality, or symbol known to appeal to minors, including a character in a comic book, movie, television show, or video game, or a mythical creature, including interactive video game capabilities within a vape product.

Local agencies can enforce the ban by imposing civil liability on a person or entity in violation of the ban of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations. Local agencies or the state may impose civil liability on a distributor who violates this section in the amount of $50,000 per violation.

Civil penalties must be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action. Those in violation of the ban are also guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

CDTFA must also revoke or suspend the license of a tobacco retailer upon a second violation of the ban. The bill adds authority similar to unstamped cigarettes and untaxed cannabis for either department to seize vape products that violate the bill’s prohibition.

The bill provides that the above penalties are in addition to other penalties prescribed by law, or other remedies under the state’s unfair competition law. State agency costs are also recoverable by the Attorney General from the person violating the ban.

The bill also makes the following changes for household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCFs):

• Authorizes an HHWCF to rely on federal guidance and other provisions for the management of acutely hazardous waste for the purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices are accepted from very small quantity generators.
• Authorizes a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices from a school that were confiscated from students pursuant to an agreement between the school and local HHWCF.
• Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
• Authorizes a permanent HHWCF to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials after consultation with the certified unified program agency s and local fire authority.
• Requires that the activities that apply to the mechanical disassembly of vape pens and devices are described in the operation plan and included in a permit-by-rule application, and that any personnel involved in the activities receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.

State Revenue Impact

According to CDTFA, “Loss of California electronic cigarette excise tax, Cigarette and Tobacco Products taxes, cannabis excise tax, sales and use tax, and licensing fee revenues of an unknown amount due to reduced legal sales of prohibited vape products and increased license suspension and revocation.”

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children.  These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing.  Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games.  Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them.  Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards. Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes.  It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste.  This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”

2. Enforcement. AB 2667 currently authorizes local agencies to impose civil penalties on advertisers, sellers, and distributors of banned products, and CDTFA can revoke or suspend a retail tobacco license upon violation of the bill’s provisions. However, CDTFA’s tobacco inspection program results in more than 3,000 physical inspections of tobacco retailers each year. Additionally, CDTFA has authority to seize unstamped cigarettes, flavored tobacco, and cannabis products that haven’t been entered into the Track and Trace system or are being offered for sale by an unlicensed retailer. The Committee may wish to consider adding similar authority for CDTFA to enhance enforcement and compliance.

3. Related legislation. The Committee will also consider AB 762 (Irwin) at its 6/24 hearing, which bans the use of disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices. Earlier this year, the Committee and the Senate approved two measures that also expanded CDTFA’s enforcement of the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act:

• SB 1124 (Archuleta), which requires the CDPH to develop signage for lung cancer screening and requires licensed tobacco retailers to display the signage or be subject to a civil penalty. The measure is currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee.
• SB 1314 (Menjivar), which enacts the Youth Over Smoke Act, which limits the location and operation of smoke shops, as defined. The measure is currently pending in the Assembly Health Committee.

4. Triple-referred. The Committee on Environmental Quality approved AB 2667 by a vote of 7 to 0 on June 17^th. The Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development approved the bill on June 22^nd by a vote of 10 to 0. The Committee on Revenue & Taxation is considering the measure as the committee of third reference.

Assembly Actions

Assembly Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee: 7-0
Assembly Business & Professions Committee: 19-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee: 15-0
Assembly Floor: 76-0

Support and Opposition

(6/22/26)

Support: A Voice for Choice Advocacy
Alameda County Office of Education
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association of California School Administrators
Breathe California
Breathe Southern California
California Cannabis Operators Association
California Optometric Association
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
City of Sunnyvale
County of Santa Barbara
County of Shasta
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Recyclesmart
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
RethinkWaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Rural County Representatives of California
StopWaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Yuba-Sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

Opposition: None received.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: June 22, 2026

Subject:

SUMMARY:

Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school. Authorizes household hazard waste facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes. Prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors; uses branding that is known to appeal to minors; or, if the vape is constructed into clothing or accessories that could be marketed to minors.

NOTE: This bill is triple referred. This bill was previously heard in the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality on June 17, 2026, and passed with a vote of 7-0. This bill is referred to the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation, third.

Existing law:

1. Defines a “household hazardous waste collection facility” (waste facility) to mean a facility operated by a public agency, or its contractor, for the purpose of collecting, handling, treating, storing, recycling, or disposing of household hazardous waste. The operation of a household hazardous waste collection facility may include accepting hazardous waste from very small quantity generators if that acceptance is authorized, as specified. Household hazardous waste collection facilities include permanent household hazardous waste collection facilities, temporary household hazardous waste collection facilities, recycle-only household hazardous waste collection facilities, curbside household hazardous waste collection programs, door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program or household hazardous waste residential pickup service, and mobile household hazardous waste collection facilities. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) § 25218.1(e)).
   
2. Defines “household hazardous waste” to mean hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence but does not include waste generated while operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1(d))
3. Defines “Very small quantity generator” or “VSQG” means a generator that meets the criteria as specified in the Section 262.13 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (HSC § 25218.2(q))
   
4. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control law which provides for the Department of Toxic and Substance Controls (DTSC) to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (HSC) §§ 25100 et seq.)
5. Permits the Department of Toxics and Substance Control (DTSC) to authorize a house hazardous waste collection facility to accept hazardous waste from a VSQG. (HSC § 25218.3(a))
   
6. Prohibits a household hazardous waste collection facility that is authorized to accept hazardous waste from a VSQG, as specified, from accepting more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste, or 1 kilogram of extremely hazardous waste, from any one VSQG in a calendar month. Calculation of quantity may not include universal waste managed pursuant to regulations. (HSC § 25218.3(b)(1)
7. Specifies the entities authorized to transport hazardous waste to a household hazardous waste facility is limited to the following:
   
8. The individual or VSQG who generated the waste, or another person on behalf of the individual, as specified,
   
9. A curbside household hazardous waste collection program.
   
10. A mobile household hazardous waste collection facility, a temporary or permanent household hazardous waste collection facility, or a recycle-only household hazardous waste collection facility.
    
11. A door-to-door household hazardous waste collection program.
    
12. A household hazardous waste residential pickup service.
    
13. A registered hazardous waste transporter carrying hazardous waste generated by a VSQG.
    
14. A public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter carrying hazardous waste from a solid waste facility or operation, including, but not limited to, a solid waste landfill loadcheck program or a transfer station loadcheck program, under agreement with the household hazardous waste collection facility.
    
15. A public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, under agreement with the household hazardous waste collection facility, operating under a contract with a public agency to transport hazardous wastes that were disposed of in violation of this chapter, and that are being removed by, or are being removed under the oversight of, the public agency, provided no more than 55 gallons or 500 pounds are being transported, and the hazardous wastes were not originally disposed of in violation of this chapter by that public agency. (HSC § 25218.5(a))
    
16. Requires a household hazardous waste collection facility to obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit, unless it is a recycle-only facility that meets specified conditions. (HSC § 25218.8)
17. Requires, effective October 1, 2016, all cartridges for electronic cigarettes and solutions for filling or refilling an electronic cigarette be in child-resistant packaging, as defined.(HSC § 119406)
18. Defines “Electronic cigarettes” to mean any device or delivery system sold in combination with nicotine which can be used to deliver to a person nicotine in aerosolized or vaporized form, including, but not limited to, an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen, or e-hookah. Electronic cigarettes include any component, part, or accessory of such a device that is used during the operation of the device when sold in combination with any liquid or substance containing nicotine. Electronic cigarettes also include any liquid or substance containing nicotine, whether sold separately or sold in combination with any device that could be used to deliver to a person nicotine in aerosolized or vaporized form. Electronic cigarettes do not include any device not sold in combination with any liquid or substance containing nicotine, or any battery, battery charger, carrying case, or other accessories not used in the operation of the device if sold separately. Electronic cigarettes do not include any product that has been approved for sale as a tobacco cessation product or for other therapeutic purposes where that product is marketed and sold solely for such approved use, as specified. (Revenue and Taxation Code (RTC § 30121(c))
    

Current Federal Law establishes the procedures to determine whether a generator is a very small quantity generator, a small quantity generator, or a large quantity generator of hazardous waste for a particular month, as defined. (40 CFR § 262.13)

This bill:

1. Defines “vape pen and device” for purposes of this bill, to mean an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.
   
2. Allows VSQGs, for purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices may be accepted without exceeding more than 100 kilograms of hazardous waste or 1 kilogram of extremely hazardous waste, the following apply:
   
   1. A waste facility may rely on United States Environmental Protection Agency guidance entitled “How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses” unless the department withdraws or replaces that guidance or issues its own guidance or regulations on the matter.
      
   2. For the extremely hazardous waste threshold, the nonacute hazardous waste may be counted separately from the acutely hazardous waste contained in those vape pens or devices.
      
   3. The amount of acutely hazardous waste contained in a vape pen and device is presumed to not exceed the maximum capacity of the cartridge contained in that vape pen and device, unless a VSQG or household hazardous waste collection facility can determine otherwise.
      
3. Allows for purposes of transporting hazardous waste to a waste facility to additionally be transported by a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter, transporting vape pens and devices from a school that were confiscated from students, pursuant to an agreement entered into between the school and local household hazardous waste collection facility.
   
4. Specifies that for 3) above, vape pens and devices transported pursuant to this subparagraph shall be transported in containers that clearly bear the school’s Environmental Protection Agency identification number and subject to the current weight limit restrictions for accepting hazardous waste from a VSQG.
   
5. Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with RCRA, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
6. Allows a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility may, after consultation with the certified unified program agency and local fire authority to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials.
   
7. States for purposes of 6) above, the following apply to any mechanical disassembly activities:
   
   1. The activities are described in the operation plan of the facility that is available for review by the certified unified program agency and included in a permit-by-rule application authorized by the certified unified program agency.
      
   2. Any personnel involved in the activities receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.
8. Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labelling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product by doing either of the following:
   
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, including, imitating a food or brand of food product commonly marketed to minors, including candy, desserts, and beverages or school supplies commonly used by minors, including, but not limited to, erasers, highlighters, pens, and pencils, or constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors.
      
   2. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
      
9. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, and impose civil liability on a person or entity in violation of this section in the amount of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations.
10. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to impose civil liability on a distributor, as defined, who violates the prohibition on vape products, as specified, in the amount of $50,000 per violation
11. Requires any civil penalties collected to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General (AG), whichever office that brought the action.
12. Authorizes the penalties collected by the AG to be expended by the AG to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
13. Makes a person in violation of these provisions is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.
14. Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to revoke or suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products of any person with a license who is in violation of these provisions, upon a second or subsequent violation.
15. Authorizes an enforcement agency to seize a product at a retail location or any other person's location if the enforcement agency discovers that a tobacco retailer or any of its agents or employees sells, offers for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a vape product prohibited by these provisions.

FISCAL EFFECT:

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, DTSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $440,000 for two positions to evaluate opportunities for the collection and disposal of vapes confiscated from students by a school, identify legislative or regulatory recommendations, update its Permit by Rule regulation (which creates a process that allows generators of hazardous waste to treat certain wastes without having to go through the formal permitting process) to explicitly authorize vape disassembly, coordinate with and provide oversight to the state’s Certified Unified Program Agencies (who administer the Permit by Rule program at the local level), coordinate with U.S. EPA, and other associated tasks. CDTFA estimates ongoing annual costs ranging from $50,00 to $250,000 to notify licensees of the vape product prohibition in this bill, seize and destroy newly prohibited vape products that do not fall under CDTFA’s existing authority for flavored tobacco products, suspend or revoke licenses, and handle appeals. CDTFA notes this bill may also result in a reduction in cannabis excise tax and cigarette and tobacco product tax revenues of an unknown amount due to a reduction in available vape products and an increase in untaxed black market sales of prohibited products, a reduction in electronic cigarette excise tax and sales and use tax revenues of an unknown amount due to seizures of prohibited vape products by enforcement agencies from tobacco retailers, and a reduction in licensing fee revenues due to an unknown number of suspensions or revocations of cigarette and tobacco products licenses for noncompliance with the vape product prohibition DCC anticipates a reduction in cannabis product license fee revenue as well as costs to the department of an unknown but potentially significant amount. DCC notes the bill shifts the focus of enforcement from manufacturers, where DCC currently prioritizes its enforcement for violations related to products that are attractive to children, to retailers and distributors (among others), significantly expanding the pool of licensees subject to enforcement. A single noncompliant vape product may be distributed to numerous retailers; on average, one product may reach approximately 83 retail licensees, meaning each product found to be in violation of this bill, over 80 licensed business (the manufacturer, the distributor, and all retailers) may require license suspension or revocation. DCC contends this shift will significantly increase the department’s workload across its enforcement, investigations, and legal divisions, as each violation requires case development, documentation, and adjudication support. The magnitude of these impacts is unknown at this time and will depend on the volume and complexity of violations, among other variables. The Department of Justice reports minor and absorbable costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. The Rural County Representatives of California is the sponsor of this bill. According to the Author, “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards. Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”
2. Background.

This bill seeks to address multiple regulatory issues related to “vapes”. First this bill seeks to clarify the process by which vapes can be disposed given that these devices are considered hazardous waste. Second, this bill establishes a pathway for schools to dispose of confiscated vapes in a manner consistent with existing requirements for disposing of hazardous household waste. Third, this bill provides a prohibition on vapes that are disguised to resemble common items for purposes of deceiving teachers, parents or others by concealing a vape in the shape of a highlighter, a pen or pencil, or a food product that mimics desserts or candy, all intended to deceive the product’s true identity. And fourth, this bill establishes robust penalties for violating the prohibition on deceptive vape devices.

Household Waste and Hazardous Household Waste. In California, the laws that govern household waste disposal are specified under the Hazardous Waste Control Law, of which the DTSC is responsible for oversight and administration. California’s regulation of hazardous waste relies on a combination of state and federal laws to ensure the safe disposal of potentially dangerous products which can be harmful to human health. Waste is considered hazardous waste if it is specified by either the federal government through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, specified in state regulations or if it exhibits any of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste which include ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity. Hazardous waste may not be disposed of in the trash and must be disposed of properly through authorized transport to a permitted facility. Household hazardous waste is generated around the home and can be generated from simple household activities like cleaning or auto maintenance. California has specific requirements for disposing of household hazardous waste.

Common household products such as batteries, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, pesticides, paints, used oil or solvents are considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of accordingly at a household waste facility. Such items are not to be disposed of in the regular trash. Vapes are handheld electronic devices, typically powered by lithium-ion batteries, that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products. Vapes may be disposable and single-use, rechargeable or pre-filled with refillable cartridges. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), vapes may contain potentially harmful substances including nicotine, cancer-causing chemicals, heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead and other tiny particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Under current federal law (RCRA), vapes are considered hazardous waste due both to the nicotine residual and the lithium-ion battery. As such, vapes are subject to household hazardous waste disposal requirements. Like batteries and paint, vapes must be disposed of properly. Cannabis vape products are required to prominently display in a clear and legible fashion: “Properly dispose of as household hazardous waste ”on the label of an integrated cannabis vaporizer.

This bill helps establish a process to determine the number of vape pens and devices that can be disposed of by a VSQG without exceeding the federally defined weight limit of transactions to maintain status as a VSQR and additionally authorizes a waste facility to mechanically disassemble vapes after consultation with the respective certified unified program agency and the local fire authority.

Vapes and Youth. Both cannabis and tobacco are limited to those over 21. Pursuant to the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act no person under the age of 21 is permitted to purchase cannabis or cannabis products. and the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act prohibits furnishing tobacco products to individuals under the age of 21 and further specifies civil penalties on retail owners for violations. The CDC reported in 2024 that over 1.6 milltion youth reported currently using e-cigarettes and in 2016, nearly one in three of U.S. middle and high school students who had ever used an e-cigarette reported using marijuana in the device. Some e-cigarettes can look similar to common household or school items that teens frequently use such as USB flash drives, pens, smartphones, highlighters, toys, and other types of products. Additionally, it is reported that some of these vapes have digital display screens and can include games and reward systems for vaping, such as points and rankings, which may make the product more appealing to youth. This bill will specifically prohibit a person from marketing promoting or otherwise selling or offering to sell a product that looks like a food item, school supplies, is clothing or accessory that would be marketed to minors or includes an interactive videogame. The provisions of this prohibition is applicable to both cannabis and tobacco vape products. This bill imposes civil penalties for violations.

Lastly, because vape use is prevalent amongst youth, this bill also aims to address challenges with schools who confiscate vape devices from students. In a recent Modesto Bee article from June 2, 2026, it was reported that at a junior high school, “More than 40 vape devices and other tobacco-related products have been confiscated at Turlock Junior High School during the just-ended school year, according to the Turlock Police Department^[1].” It was reported that items collected included nicotine-related vaping devices, tobacco products and items containing THC or cannabis. As noted by the author, “Residents might be able to dispose of vape pens at household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCFs); however, it is far more difficult for school facilities to properly dispose of vape pens seized from students as contraband. It is also unclear whether a HHWCF can permissibly disassemble vapes to separate batteries and electronic components from cartridges/tanks to simplify and reduce management costs.” This bill establishes a streamlined approach to allow schools to more easily dispose of confiscated vape products under hazardous waste requirements.

1. Arguments in Support. A broad coalition of supporters note, “Assembly Bill 2667 seeks to protect children, young adults, and the public by: 1) banning disguised vapes and vapes containing video display devices, 2) providing an easier regulatory pathway for schools to properly dispose of vapes confiscated from students, and 3) improving the safe collection, management, and proper disposal of vapes by local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facilities.

“Vapes are ubiquitous, commonly encountered in the waste stream, and must be managed as hazardous waste because they contain residual chemicals, batteries, and electronic components. Vapes create real public health and safety risks when disguised or improperly disposed. Local government household hazardous waste (HHW) collection programs are intended to provide safe and convenient ways for residents and small generators to dispose of hazardous waste like vapes.”

SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:

Support:

Rural County Representatives of California (source)

Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
County of Santa Barbara
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Rethinkwaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Stopwaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA)
Yuba-Sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

Opposition:

None received

-- END --

1. https://www.modbee.com/news/local/article315978741.html#storylink=cpy ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Senator Blakespear, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular

Bill No: AB 2667

SUBJECT: Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

DIGEST: This bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of confiscated vape pens at a school; authorizes household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCF) to collect, transport, and mechanically disassemble vapes; and prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product appeals to minors, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing federal law:

1. Establishes the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to authorize the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to manage hazardous and non-hazardous wastes throughout the wastes’ life cycle. (42 United States Code (USC) §§ 6901 et seq.)
   

Existing state law:

1. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) to authorize DTSC to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §§ 25100 et seq.)
2. Defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:
   1. Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or
   2. Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. (HSC § 25141(b))
3. Defines hazardous waste as a federal RCRA hazardous waste if it meets any of the following criteria:
   1. It exhibits any of the characteristics of ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity, as defined;
   2. It is listed as a hazardous waste under federal regulation; or
   3. It is identified as a hazardous waste under state regulation, as specified. (22 California Code of Regulations (CCR) § 66261.100)
4. Defines “household hazardous waste” (HHW) as hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, but does not include waste generated in the course of operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1(e))
5. Establishes that counties and cities will provide services for the collection of HHW and that the state will provide an expedited and streamlined regulatory structure to facilitate the collection of HHW. (HSC § 25218)
6. Requires a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF) to obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit, unless the HHWCF is a recycle-only facility that meets specified conditions. (HSC § 25218.8)
7. Enacts the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (EWRA), which established a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of video display devices, such as televisions and computer monitors that are hazardous waste when discarded. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §§ 42460 et seq.)
8. Adds battery-embedded products to the EWRA. (PRC § 42463)

This bill:

1. Authorizes a HHWCF to rely on federal guidance and other provisions for the management of acutely hazardous waste for the purposes of determining how many vape pens and devices are accepted from very small quantity generators.
2. Authorizes a public agency, contractor of a public agency, or a registered hazardous waste transporter to transport vape pens and devices from a school that were confiscated from students pursuant to an agreement between the school and local HHWCF.
3. Requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school, ensure the evaluation is consistent with RCRA, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.
4. Authorizes a permanent HHWCF to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials after consultation with the CUPAs and local fire authority.
5. Requires that the activities that apply to the mechanical disassembly of vape pens and devices are described in the operation plan and included in a permit-by-rule application, and that any personnel involved in the activities receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.
6. Defines “vape pen and device” to mean an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.
7. Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in this state by doing either of the following:
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from adults, as specified; or
   2. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
8. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, and impose civil liability on a person or entity in violation of this section in the amount of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations.
9. Authorizes a city, county, a city and county, or the state to impose civil liability on a distributor, as defined, who violates the prohibition on vape products, as specified, in the amount of $50,000 per violation
10. Requires any civil penalties collected to be paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district attorney, or Attorney General (AG), whichever office that brought the action.
11. Authorizes the penalties collected by the AG to be expended by the AG to enforce the prohibition on vape products, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
12. Requires that any person in violation of these provisions is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.
13. Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to revoke or suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products of any person with a license who is in violation of these provisions, upon a second or subsequent violation.
14. Authorizes an enforcement agency to seize a product at a retail location or any other person's location if the enforcement agency discovers that a tobacco retailer or any of its agents or employees sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a vape product prohibited by these provisions.
    

Background

1. Vapes as hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. In regulatory terms, a waste is hazardous if it appears on a RCRA hazardous wastes list or exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at an authorized recycling facility.

Vapes are handheld electronic devices, typically powered by lithium-ion batteries, that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products. Vapes may be disposable and single-use, or rechargeable with refillable cartridges. Vapes are known to carry and emit a variety of harmful substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, aldehydes, carbon monoxide, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).^[1] In the liquid cartridges alone, studies have found 421 distinct chemicals, with over 75 chemicals deemed harmful or hazardous by the federal government. Vapes are considered hazardous waste under RCRA at their end of life due to both the corrosive properties of the embedded lithium-ion battery and the residual substances in the cartridge if filled with liquid nicotine. Liquid nicotine is considered to be acutely hazardous, thus more stringent requirements for management apply. For vapes containing cannabis products, residue left in the cartridges is considered hazardous waste under California law.

When improperly disposed of, vapes can release these hazardous substances into the environment. The embedded lithium-ion batteries may also pose a fire or explosion risk when damaged. The processes associated with solid waste collection, recycling and disposal during transport and at facilities can apply various stressors to lithium-ion batteries, increasing this risk.^[2] The California Prodcut Stewardship Council conducted a survey on fires at waste management facilities in 2018 and found that 40% of reported fires were caused by lithium-ion batteries.^[3] While evidence that lithium-ion batteries in vapes directly cause the fires experienced by refuse trucks and waste management facilities is difficult to come by, it is generally recognized that lithium-ion batteries have been responsible for some of these incidents and that vapes have the potential to ignite or explode.^3,[4],[5]

1. The challenges of managing waste vapes. Many common household products are hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become household hazardous waste (HHW). Common HHW includes, but is not limited to, antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a HHW Program. Most HHW programs and facilities are run by local government agencies such as cities or counties.

State law requires vapes to be disposed of at a household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF), or other authorized hazardous waste facility. Vapes consist of various hazardous components, including the lithium-ion batteries, circuitry, and cartridges with residues of tobacco or cannabis products. The hazardous traits of these components vary significantly and if separated, the components would have different management requirements. Currently, HHWCFs are not authorized to separate these components, as disassembly would be considered a form of treatment. This, however, can make managing vapes extremely expensive as the vape would need to be managed as one unit and with the most stringent requirements due to the most hazardous components within the vape.

This bill would authorize HHWCFs to mechanically disassemble vapes after consultation with the respective certified unified program agency (CUPA) and the local fire authority. Enacting this authority would create system efficiencies in hazardous waste management and reduce costs for HHWCFs and their respective local agencies.

1. Youth vaping. The use of vapes is prevalent amongst youth.^[6] In 2024, it was reported that over 1.6 million minors partake in vaping.^[7] In a state-wide survey of youth vaping in schools, of nearly 8,000 staff from 255 middle and high schools, 31.9% reported seeing students vaping at school.^[8]

Vapes are said to be aggressively marketed to young people, as many vapes exhibit features that can be appealing to minors.^[9] Vapes may use branding that involves characters familiar and trendy to minors through movies, television, and videogames. To help avoid confiscation, vapes can also be concealed to look like food products or school supplies, such as highlighters and USB drives. "Smart vapes" are emerging with touch screens, Bluetooth, speakers, and built-in games intended to attract a broader youth consumer base.^[10]

There are a myriad of adverse physical and mental health impacts associated with vaping, and studies show that there is an increased risk for youth in developing these negative health outcomes.⁹ Additionally, vapes that were intended to target minors present additional waste management challenges, as “smart vapes” may contain additional components that are considered hazardous waste. Further, vapes that are disguised are likely to be mistaken for that product and disposed of improperly, posing a heightened risk of damage to waste management infrastructure.

To combat the risk that these vapes pose to minors and waste management facilities, this bill would ban vapes that imitate a product that is not a vape to conceal its nature, as specified, and vapes that include interactive videogame capabilities.

1. Confiscation of vapes in schools. Because the use of tobacco products and controlled substances are prohibited at schools, school staff are expected to confiscate vapes from students. Because waste vapes are considered hazardous waste, the school becomes a generator of hazardous waste.

Typically waste vapes are required to be disposed of at a HHWCF, however, because schools are not classified as "households" under federal regulation (40 CFR 261.4 (b)(1)), it is understood that schools cannot dispose of vapes at HHWCFs and must abide by federal regulations as a hazardous waste generator. When vapes are treated as hazardous waste instead of HHW, the required handling, transportation, storage, and management of that vape pen is more intensive than if it were classified as HHW.

The U.S. EPA has issued guidance for schools and businesses on how to safely dispose of e-cigarettes (vapes containing nicotine), and depending on the amount of vapes collected, designates the hazardous waste generator categories.^[11] While this information can serve as a resource for entities that may inevitably possess vapes, it can be very challenging and expensive for schools to manage the vapes they collect in this manner.

Previous legislation (AB 998, Hadwick, 2025) would have authorized schools to transport and manage confiscated vapes as household hazardous waste (HHW), but it is possible that this would have conflicted with federal regulations. AB 998 was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Because it may be challenging for schools to manage vapes as hazardous waste, this bill requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities that increase the safety and convenience for schools that need to manage and dispose of vapes, and identify recommendations that require future legislative action.

Comments

1. Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.”

TRIPLE REFERRAL:

This bill has been triple referred to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development, and Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation. If this measure is approved by the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, the do pass motion must include the action to re-refer the bill to the Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 762 (Irwin, 2025) prohibits a person from importing or manufacturing for sale in this state a disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device containing nicotine beginning January 1, 2027; and prohibits, a person from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device containing nicotine beginning January 1, 2028. This bill is currently pending in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

AB 998 (Hadwick, 2025) would have authorized a school to transport and manage confiscated vape pens as HHW and authorized a HHWCF to disassemble HHW. This bill was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 2481 (Smith, Chapter 499, Statutes of 2022) made various changes to the statutory requirements for the transportation of hazardous waste and the operation of HHW collection facilities.

SB 552 (Archuleta, Chapter 481, Statutes of 2019) authorized the use of consolidated manifests in the transportation of HHW in door-to-door HHW collection programs.

SB 726 (Caballero, Chapter 485, Statutes of 2019) authorized a public agency’s contractor to conduct HHW materials exchange programs.

SOURCE:

Rural County Representatives of California

SUPPORT:

Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
County of Santa Barbara
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Rethinkwaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority (ESJPA)
Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC)
Stopwaste
Swana California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Tehama County Solid Waste Management Agency
Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA)
Yuba-sutter Regional Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

OPPOSITION:

None received

-- END --

1. Constantin, A. and Mihălțan, FD. (2025). E-Cigarette and Environment. ↑

2. Gausden, A. and Cerik, BC. (2024). Single-Use Vape Batteries: Investigating Their Potential as Ignition Sources in Waste and Recycling Streams. ↑

3. California Product Stewardship Council. (2018). Fire Incident Survey Results 4/9/18. ↑

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). An Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Fires in Waste Management and Recycling. ↑

5. U.S. Fire Administration. (2017). Electronic Cigarette Fires and Explosions in the United States 2009-2016. ↑

6. Al-Oudah, G.A., et. al. (2025). E-cigarettes and Vaping: A New Frontier in Youth Drug Prevention. ↑

7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Sound the Alarm: Youth Vaping Can Harm. ↑

8. Cole, A.G., et. al. (2022). California School Staff Reports of Seeing Students Vaping at School and Disciplinary Actions. ↑

9. Golder, S., et. al. (2025). Vaping and harm in young people: umbrella review. ↑

10. Wong, M. and Talbot, P. (2024). Pac-Man on a vape: electronic cigarettes that target youth as handheld multimedia and gaming devices. ↑

11. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). How to Safely Dispose of E-Cigarettes: Information for Schools and Small Businesses. ↑

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 2667

Author:(Hadwick and Wicks)

As Introduced Ver:February 20, 2026

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school. Authorizes household hazard waste (HHW) facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes. Prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors; uses branding that is known to appeal to minors; or, if the vape is constructed into clothing or accessories that could be marketed to minors.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS

Hazardous waste management: Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. In regulatory terms, a waste is hazardous if it appears on a federal Resources Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous wastes list or exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. However, materials can be hazardous waste even if they are not specifically listed or do not exhibit any characteristic of a hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at a recycling facility.

Regulation of batteries: State law, the Hazardous Waste Control Law, prohibits the disposal of batteries in the trash or household recycling collection bins intended to receive other non-hazardous waste and/or recyclable materials. Many types of batteries, regardless of size, exhibit hazardous characteristics and are considered hazardous waste when they are discarded. These include single use alkaline and lithium batteries and rechargeable lithium metal, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries of various sizes (AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-Volt, and small sealed lead-acid batteries). Many batteries are sold within products, such as lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in portable electronics like laptops, smart phones, digital cameras, game consoles, and cordless power tools. Because lithium-ion batteries contain hazardous and corrosive materials, they also pose a fire risk if not stored or disposed of properly. Single use vape devices usually contain a lithium-ion battery, making them hazardous waste at the end of life of the product.

HHW collection: Many common household products are also hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become "HHW." Common HHW includes, but is not limited to, antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a HHW Program. Most HHW programs are run by local government agencies such as cities or counties.

This bill: Authorizes HHW facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes, such as recycling the battery.

Environmental impacts of disposable vapes: In the 2023 report, "Vape waste: The environmental harms of disposable vapes," the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund states:

"One product stands apart as being particularly harmful to our environment and public health—disposable vapes. Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, are handheld battery powered electronic devices with heated metal coils that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products, known as e-liquid. Nicotine is the famously addictive stimulant found in tobacco that gives smokers a dopamine hit, and makes quitting difficult. Much has been made of the public health harms of disposable vapes, but this report aims to understand their effects as hazardous electronic waste.

Electronic waste produced from disposable vapes includes both the circuit boards and lithium ion batteries that power the device. These boards contain some of the heavy metals mentioned above, which can leach into the groundwater. Due to the nicotine e-liquid used in these products, vape waste can′t be recycled with other plastics because the substance is defined by the [US] EPA as an acute hazardous waste."

Marketing of vapes that look like harmless school supplies: When vape products are made to look like school supplies, it further burdens schools when addressing vape use at schools. Additionally, when vape products look like school supplies, it is very likely that they will end up in the solid waste stream. This could lead to increased fires in solid waste trucks and solid waste landfills.

This bill: AB 2667 additionally prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors; uses branding that is known to appeal to minors; or, if the vape is constructed into clothing or accessories that could be marketed to minors.

According to the Author

"Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly."

Arguments in Support

According to a coalition of groups including Rural County Representatives of California, Zero Waste Marin, Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, National Stewardship Action Council, California Product Stewardship Council, Los Angeles Unified School District, Republic Services, and Recology,

"Assembly Bill 2667 seeks to protect children, young adults, and the public by: 1) Banning disguised vapes and vapes containing video display devices, 2) Providing an easier regulatory pathway for schools to properly dispose of vapes confiscated from students, and 3) Improving the safe collection, management, and proper disposal of vapes by local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facilities."

Arguments in Opposition

None on file.

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of this bill could cost DTSC approximately $440,000 annually to implement this bill; potential costs to the Department of Tax and Fee Administration range from $50,00 to $250,000; and, the Department of Cannabis Control anticipates a reduction in cannabis product license fee revenue as well as unknown costs of a potentially significant amount.

VOTES

ASM ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS: 7-0-0

YES: Connolly, Ellis, Bauer-Kahan, Castillo, Lee, McKinnor, Papan

ASM BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS: 19-0-0

YES: Berman, Johnson, Addis, Ahrens, Alanis, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Caloza, Chen, Elhawary, Hadwick, Haney, Hart, Irwin, Jackson, Lowenthal, Macedo, Nguyen, Pellerin

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 15-0-0

YES: Wicks, Hoover, Aguiar-Curry, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Ta, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: February 20, 2026

CONSULTANT: Josh Tooker / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0002737

Date of Hearing: April 22, 2026

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2667

Author:(Hadwick) – As Introduced Ver:February 20, 2026

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school, authorizes household hazardous waste (HHW) facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes, and bans disguised vapes and vapes with videogame capabilities.

Specifically, this bill, among other things:

1) Requires, until January 1, 2030, DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school; requires the evaluation to ensure consistency with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as specified; and requires DTSC to identify any recommendations that require future legislative action.

2) Authorizes a permanent HHW collection facility, after consultation with the certified unified program agency and the entity responsible for fire protection, to mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials and in accordance with other specified requirements.

3) Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in the state by doing any of the following: (a) imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, as specified, (b) using branding that is known to appeal to minors, as specified, and (c) including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.

4) Authorizes a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to enforce this bill and imposes civil liability on a person or entity in violation of this bill in the amount of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations; authorizes the same entities to impose civil liability on a distributor who violates this bill in the amount of $50,000 per violation; requires any civil penalties collected to be paid to whichever office brought the action; allows penalties collected by the Attorney General (AG) to be expended by the AG, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to enforce this bill; and makes any person who violates this bill guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $500.

5) Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to revoke or suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products of any person with a license who is in violation of this bill, as specified, and requires the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to revoke or suspend a license issued by DCC of any person with a license to sell cannabis or a cannabis product who is in violation of this bill, as specified.

6) Authorizes an enforcement agency, if it discovers that a tobacco retailer, or any of retailer’s agents or employees, sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a vape product prohibited by this bill, to seize the product at the retail location or any other person’s location, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1) DTSC estimates ongoing annual costs of approximately $440,000 (Electronic Waste Recovery & Recycling Account) for two positions to evaluate opportunities for the collection and disposal of vapes confiscated from students by a school, identify legislative or regulatory recommendations, update its Permit by Rule regulation (which creates a process that allows generators of hazardous waste to treat certain wastes without having to go through the formal permitting process) to explicitly authorize vape disassembly, coordinate with and provide oversight to the state’s Certified Unified Program Agencies (who administer the Permit by Rule program at the local level), coordinate with U.S. EPA, and other associated tasks.

2) CDTFA estimates ongoing annual costs ranging from $50,00 to $250,000 to notify licensees of the vape product prohibition in this bill, seize and destroy newly prohibited vape products that do not fall under CDTFA’s existing authority for flavored tobacco products, suspend or revoke licenses, and handle appeals. CDTFA notes this bill may also result in a reduction in cannabis excise tax and cigarette and tobacco product tax revenues of an unknown amount due to a reduction in available vape products and an increase in untaxed black market sales of prohibited products, a reduction in electronic cigarette excise tax and sales and use tax revenues of an unknown amount due to seizures of prohibited vape products by enforcement agencies from tobacco retailers, and a reduction in licensing fee revenues due to an unknown number of suspensions or revocations of cigarette and tobacco products licenses for noncompliance with the vape product prohibition (Cannabis Tax Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Funds, General Fund, Local Revenue Fund 2011, Local Revenue Fund 1991, and Public Safety Fund).

The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently warned of General Fund structural deficits of around $35 billion per year in the 2027-28 fiscal year and ongoing.

3) DCC anticipates a reduction in cannabis product license fee revenue as well as costs to the department of an unknown but potentially significant amount (Cannabis Control Fund). DCC notes the bill shifts the focus of enforcement from manufacturers, where DCC currently prioritizes its enforcement for violations related to products that are attractive to children, to retailers and distributors (among others), significantly expanding the pool of licensees subject to enforcement. A single noncompliant vape product may be distributed to numerous retailers; on average, one product may reach approximately 83 retail licensees, meaning for each product found to be in violation of this bill, over 80 licensed business (the manufacturer, the distributor, and all retailers) may require license suspension or revocation.

DCC contends this shift will significantly increase the department’s workload across its enforcement, investigations, and legal divisions, as each violation requires case development, documentation, and adjudication support. The magnitude of these impacts is unknown at this time and will depend on the volume and complexity of violations, among other variables.

4) The Department of Justice reports minor and absorbable costs.

COMMENTS:

1) Purpose. According to the author:

Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.

2) Background. Many common household products that are hazardous become HHW when they are discarded. In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through an HHW program. Most HHW programs are run by local government agencies such as a city or county.

Single-use and refillable vapes are commonly found in the waste stream and must be managed as hazardous waste because they contain residual chemicals, batteries, and electronic components and because they can cause fires. Schools often confiscate vape pens that students bring from home. This bill is sponsored by the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), which notes that while the student or parent can dispose of the vape as HHW at a HHW collection facility, schools are not considered “households” and often generate too much hazardous waste to be able to use local HHW collection facilities. Schools have few transporters and disposal opportunities available, which means it can be very expensive to properly manage and dispose of the contraband. To address this problem, this bill directs DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase the safety and convenience for managing vapes confiscated from students by a school.

RCRC also contends vapes include multiple components, all of which have different hazardous traits. As such, they can be extremely expensive for local HHW programs to manage. While the batteries and circuitry have value and are recyclable, the fluid canister is often considered acutely hazardous waste. RCRC argues that vapes could be managed much more cost effectively if HHW collection facilities were authorized to safely disassemble them, as the cartridge (which is often the most expensive to manage) could be separated from the batteries and circuitry and each component could be managed separately. This bill allows HHW collection facilities to safely disassemble vapes after consultation with local environmental health and fire agencies, provided the personnel receive proper training and the activities do not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials.

Finally, RCRC notes that vapes are increasingly designed and marketed to appeal to minors and young adults – often in ways that are deceptive or intended to increase the level of addiction. Disguised vapes are harder for educators to detect and also pose heightened fire risks for collection trucks and solid waste facilities. This bill bans the sale of disguised vapes and video game vapes.

3) Related Legislation. AB 998 (Hadwick) of the current legislative session, among other things, requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens confiscated from students by a school. AB 998 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.

Analysis Prepared by: Nikita Koraddi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing:

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS

Marc Berman, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2667

Author:(Hadwick) – As Introduced Ver:February 20, 2026

NOTE: This bill is double referred and previously passed the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials on a 7-0 vote.

SUBJECT: Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising.

SUMMARY: Prohibits the sale of cannabis or tobacco vape products that conceal the nature of the vape product, use branding known to appeal to minors, or include interactive videogame capabilities; requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate and make recommendations relating to the confiscation of vape products from students by schools; and authorizes household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facilities to disassemble vape products.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Enacts the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, which, among other provisions, requires distributors engaged in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products to apply for and obtain a license from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). (Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 30001 et seq.)
2. Establishes the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) within the California Health and Human Services Agency, which houses a California Tobacco Control Branch charged with leading state and local health program to promote a tobacco-free environment. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §§ 131000 et seq.)
3. Prohibits a tobacco retailer from selling flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer, as defined, and authorizes the CDPH, the Attorney General, or a local law enforcement agency to assess civil penalties for violations of that prohibition; requires the CDPH to notify the CDTFA of repeat violations and requires the CDTFA to assess a civil penalty and suspend or revoke the violating retailer’s license. (HSC § 104559.5)
4. Requires the CDPH to establish a program to reduce the availability of tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age through authorized enforcement activities, as specified, pursuant to the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act (STAKE Act). (Business and Professions Code (BPC) § 22952)
5. Authorizes specified enforcing agencies to assess civil penalties against any person, firm, or corporation that violates the prohibition against sales of tobacco products, instruments, or paraphernalia to persons under the age of 21. (BPC § 22958)
6. Enacts the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to provide for the licensing of manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. (BPC §§ 22970 et seq.)
7. Provides for specified application requirements for a retailer to obtain a license from the CDTFA to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products and specifies causes for denial of a license, including the violation of specified laws. (BPC § 22973.1)
8. Requires the forfeiture of unlawful flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers and requires the CDTFA to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer or wholesaler following multiple cases of forfeiture, as specified. (BPC § 22974.2; § 22978.3)
9. Requires the CDTFA to revoke the license of any retailer or any person controlling the retailer that has been convicted of specified felonies or had any permit or license revoked under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law. (BPC § 22974.4)
10. Specifies additional causes for suspension or revocation of a retailer’s license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products by the CDTFA, including violations of laws relevant to the scope of the license. (BPC § 22980.3)
11. Enacts the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) to provide for a comprehensive regulatory framework for the cultivation, distribution, transport, storage, manufacturing, processing, and sale of medicinal and adult-use cannabis. (BPC §§ 26000 et seq.)
12. Establishes the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency for purposes of administering MAUCRSA. (BPC § 26010)
13. Establishes grounds for disciplinary action against cannabis licensees, including failures to comply with state requirements as well as local laws and ordinances. (BPC § 26030)
14. Authorizes the DCC to suspend, revoke, place on probation, or otherwise discipline licensees for specified acts or omissions constituting grounds for disciplinary action. (BPC § 26031)
15. Prohibits a cannabis retailer or microbusiness from selling alcoholic beverages or tobacco products on their premises. (BPC § 26054)
16. Requires cannabis and cannabis products to be labeled and placed in a tamper-evident, child-resistant package prior to delivery or sale. (BPC § 26120(a))
17. Prohibits cannabis and cannabis product packages and labels from being made to be attractive to children. (BPC § 26120(b))
18. Effective July 1, 2024, prohibits the package or label of a cannabis cartridge and an integrated cannabis vaporizer from indicating that the cartridge or vaporizer is disposable or implying that it may be thrown in the trash or recycling streams. (BPC § 26120(f))
19. Requires a cannabis cartridge or integrated cannabis vaporizer to bear a universal symbol and defines “integrated cannabis vaporizer” as a singular device that contains both cannabis oil and an integrated electronic device that creates an aerosol or vapor. (BPC § 26122)
20. Requires the DCC to set packaging and labeling standards for manufactured cannabis products, including a requirement that products not be designed to be appealing to children or easily confused with commercially sold candy or other non-cannabis foods. (BPC § 26130)
21. Requires that all cannabis advertisements identify the license number of the licensee responsible for its content, requires any advertising or marketing by cannabis licensees placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print, and digital communications to only be displayed where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older, and requires any direct advertising or marketing by cannabis licensees to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older. (BPC § 26151)
22. Prohibits a person engaged in commercial cannabis activity from doing any of the following:
    1. Advertising or marketing in a manner that is false or untrue in any material particular, or that, irrespective of falsity, directly, or by ambiguity, omission, or inference, or by the addition of irrelevant, scientific, or technical matter, tends to create a misleading impression.
    2. Publishing or disseminating advertising or marketing containing any statement concerning a brand or product that is inconsistent with any statement on its labeling.
    3. Publishing or disseminating advertising or marketing containing any statement, design, device, or representation which tends to create the impression that cannabis or hemp originated in a particular place or region, unless the label of the advertised product bears an appellation of origin, and such appellation of origin appears in the advertisement.
    4. Advertising or marketing on a billboard or similar advertising device located on an Interstate Highway or on a State Highway which crosses the California border.
    5. Advertising or marketing cannabis or cannabis products in a manner intended to encourage persons under 21 years of age to consume cannabis or cannabis products.
    6. Publishing or disseminating advertising or marketing that is attractive to children.
    7. Advertising or marketing cannabis or cannabis products on an advertising sign within 1,000 feet of a day care center, school providing instruction in kindergarten or any grades 1 to 12, inclusive, playground, or youth center.
    8. Publishing or disseminating advertising or marketing while the licensee’s license is suspended.

(BPC § 26152)

1. Requires the advertisement and marketing of an integrated cannabis vaporizer to provide specified statements about how to correctly dispose of those products. (BPC § 26152.1)
2. Authorizes the Attorney General, on behalf of the people, a city attorney, or a county counsel to bring and maintain an action for violations of cannabis advertising prohibitions. (BPC § 26152.2)
3. Exempts from the prohibition against advertising within 1,000 feet of a day care, school, playground, or youth center the placement of advertising signs inside a licensed premises that are not visible by normal unaided vision from a public place, provided that such advertising signs do not advertise cannabis or cannabis products in a manner intended to encourage persons under 21 years of age to consume cannabis or cannabis products. (BPC § 26155)
4. Requires a manufacturer, distributor, or seller of an industrial hemp product to follow packaging, labeling, and advertising laws applicable to cannabis businesses. (HSC § 111926)
5. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) to authorize the DTSC to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (HSC §§ 25100 et seq.)
6. Defines “hazardous waste” as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:
   1. Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or,
   2. Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

(HSC § 25141)

1. Defines “household hazardous waste” as hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, but does not include waste generated in the course of operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1)
2. Establishes that counties and cities will provide services for the collection of HHW and that the state will provide an expedited and streamlined regulatory structure to facilitate the collection of HHW. (HSC § 25218)
3. Enacts the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, which requires producers of specified batteries to establish a stewardship program for the collection and recycling of those batteries. (Public Resources Code (PRC) §§ 42420 et seq.)
4. Enacts the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (EWRA), which establishes a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of video display devices, such as televisions and computer monitors that are hazardous waste when discarded. (PRC §§ 42460 et seq.)

THIS BILL:

1. Prohibits any person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in California by doing any of the following:
   1. Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, including by imitating a food commonly marketed to minors or school supplies commonly used by minors or by constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors.
   2. Using branding that is known to appeal to minors, including branding based on or depicting a character, personality, or symbol known to appeal to minors, including a character in a comic book, movie, television show, or videogame, or a mythical creature.
   3. Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.
2. Authorizes a city, a county, a city and county, or the State of California to enforce the above prohibitions and impose civil liability of $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation, and $5,000 for the third and any subsequent violations; additionally authorizes the imposition of civil liability on a distributor $50,000 per violation.
3. Additionally provides that a violation of the above prohibitions is punishable as an infraction with a fine of not more than $500.
4. Requires the CDTFA to revoke or suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco product under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 for a violation of the above prohibitions.
5. Requires the DCC to revoke or suspend a license issued under MAUCRSA for a violation of the above prohibitions.
6. Authorizes an enforcement agency that discovers that a tobacco retailer engaged in the sale of a prohibited vape product , to seize that product.
7. Requires the DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school and to identify any recommendations that require future legislative action.
8. Provides that the evaluation conducted by the DTSC shall ensure consistency with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976.
9. Authorizes a permanent HHW collection facility to, after consultation with the certified unified program agency and the entity responsible for fire protection, mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials.
10. Requires the disassembly of vape pens and devices to be described in the operation plan of the facility that is available for review by the certified unified program agency and included in a permit-by-rule application authorized by the certified unified program agency.
11. Provides that any personnel involved in the disassembly shall receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.
12. Defines “vape pen and device” as an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown; this bill is keyed fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.

COMMENTS:

Purpose. This bill is sponsored by Rural County Representatives of California. According to the author:

Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards. Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly.

Background.

Regulation of Batteries. The Hazardous Waste Control Law provides the Department of Toxic Substances Control with responsibility for overseeing the management of hazardous waste in California. The EWRA establishes a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of electronic waste, which was expanded in 2022 to include covered battery-embedded products. The Legislature also enacted Assembly Bill 2440 (Irwin), the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, which requires producers of covered batteries to establish a stewardship program for collection and recycling of those covered batteries.

Regulation of Cannabis. Consumption of cannabis was first made lawful in California in 1996 when voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act. Proposition 215 protected qualified patients and caregivers from prosecution relating to the possession and cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes, if recommended by a physician. This regulatory scheme was further refined by SB 420 (Vasconcellos) in 2003, which established the state’s Medical Marijuana Program. However, a lack of a uniform regulatory framework led to persistent problems across the state due to cannabis’s continued illegality under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug ineligible for prescription. Ongoing threats of enforcement action by the federal government created apprehension within California’s cannabis community and prompted calls for legislative action.

After several prior attempts to improve the state’s regulation of cannabis, the Legislature passed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act—subsequently retitled the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA)—in 2015. MCRSA established, for the first time, a comprehensive statewide licensing and regulatory framework for the cultivation, manufacture, transportation, testing, distribution, and sale of medicinal cannabis. While entrusting state agencies to promulgate regulations governing the implementation of the state’s cannabis laws, MCRSA preserved local control. Under MCRSA, local governments could establish their own ordinances to regulate medicinal cannabis activity, or choose to ban cannabis activity altogether.

Not long after the Legislature enacted MCRSA, California voters passed Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). The passage of the AUMA legalized cannabis for non-medicinal adult use in a private home or licensed business; allowed adults 21 and over to possess and give away up to approximately one ounce of cannabis and up to eight grams of concentrate; and permitted the personal cultivation of up to six plants. The proponents of the AUMA sought to make use of much of the regulatory framework and authorities set out by MCRSA while making a few notable changes to the structure still being implemented.

In the spring of 2017, SB 94 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) was passed to reconcile the distinct systems for the regulation, licensing, and enforcement of legal cannabis that had been established under the respective authorities of MCRSA and the AUMA. The single consolidated system established by the bill—known as the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA)—created a unified series of cannabis laws. On January 16, 2019, the state’s three cannabis licensing authorities—the Bureau of Cannabis Control, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California Department of Public Health—officially announced that the Office of Administrative Law had approved final cannabis regulations promulgated by the three agencies respectively.

In early 2021, the Department of Finance released trailer bill language to create a new Department with centralized authority for cannabis licensing and enforcement activities. This new department was created through a consolidation of the three prior licensing authorities’ cannabis programs. As of July 1, 2021, the DCC has been the single entity responsible for administering and enforcing the majority of MAUCRSA. New regulations went into effect on January 1, 2023 to effectuate the consolidation and make other changes to cannabis regulation.

Regulation of Cigarette and Tobacco Sales. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The government has an established policy goal in preventing tobacco use, and there are multiple federally funded campaigns to not just educate consumers about tobacco health considerations, but to discourage smoking and encourage cessation. In California, the CDPH’s California Tobacco Control Program states that its focus is to make tobacco “less desirable, less acceptable and less accessible.” The California Department of Education similarly provides assistance to schools, school districts, and county offices of education regarding the prevention and cessation of tobacco use.

The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law provides for the licensure of distributors engaged in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products from the CDTFA. The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 provides for the licensure manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. Current law provides that specific violations of the law are cause for the CDTFA to deny an application for an initial or renewed license, and that a license can be suspended or revoked for specified causes.

The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act (STAKE Act) prohibits the sale of tobacco products to individuals under 21 years old and requires tobacco retailers to post age restriction warning signs. It also enforces compliance through undercover youth decoy operations, imposes fines for violations, and mandates licensing requirements for sellers. The STAKE Act further prohibits advertising of tobacco products on any outdoor billboard located within 1,000 feet of any public or private elementary school, junior high school, or high school, or public playground.

In 2020, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 793 (Hill), which prohibits retailers from selling flavored tobacco products or a tobacco product flavor enhancers, with some exceptions. This ban applied to combustible cigarettes and cigars as well as electronic cigarettes and other vaping products. Senate Bill 793 was challenged unsuccessfully in court, and a referendum was placed on the 2022 ballot in California that resulted in nearly two-thirds of voters choosing to uphold the legislation. In 2024, the Legislature enacted Assembly Bill 3218 (Wood), which requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain a website containing a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, known as the Unflavored Tobacco List.

Unsafe Disposal of Vapor Inhalation Devices. Vaping has grown rapidly in recent years to become the most popular form of tobacco use. According surveys conducted by the CDPH, 4.4 percent of adults reported using vape products, a rate more than double that of cigarette smokers, making vaping the most common form of tobacco use among adults.^[1] This is similarly the case for tobacco use by youths, with 5.9 percent of youth reporting current use of vape products according to the CDPH’s surveys.^[2]

Vaping is also a very popular way to consume manufactured cannabis products. According to a 2020 report, yearly revenue from the sales of cannabis vapes has exceeded $1 billion, and that market has continued to grow. According to analysis provided by ERA Economics in 2025 as part of the DCC’s Condition and Health of the Cannabis Industry in California report, sales of vapes increased from $309 million to $354 million between the second quarters of 2021 and 2024. The majority of cannabis vaping products are cartridges that are inserted into reusable vaporizers or vape pens. However, at the time of the 2020 report, approximately 10 percent of vaping products were believed to be vaporizers that combine both the cannabis product and a built-in electronic device that creates the aerosol or vapor, essentially constituting a single-use, all-in-one product.^[3]

Concerns have been raised in recent years about the use of integrated vaporizers containing embedded batteries. According to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), batteries are hazardous waste when they are discarded because of the metals and other toxic or corrosive materials they contain. Battery-embedded devices pose significant environmental and safety hazards, particularly when improperly disposed of in household trash. These devices often contain lithium-ion batteries, which can overheat, ignite, or even explode if punctured or compressed in trash compactors or landfills. This creates serious fire risks for sanitation workers, waste management facilities, and surrounding communities. A 2021 report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency identified 64 waste facilities that had experienced 245 fires caused by, or likely caused by, lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries, some of which were substantially destructive.^[4]

In 2022, it was discovered that the state’s largest manufacturer of cannabis vaping products, which at the time sold approximately 25 percent of cannabis vapes in California, was selling its integrated vaping products with “DISPOSABLE THC PEN” prominently displayed on the packaging. In response to allegations of misleading and potentially hazardous labeling and advertising practices, in 2022 the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1894 (Luz Rivas), which placed new requirements and restrictions for the packages and labels of integrated cannabis vaporizers, as well as for the advertisement and marketing of those products. These requirements went into effect on July 1, 2024.

Similar concerns have been raised for vaping product containing tobacco products, commonly referred to as “e-cigarettes.” In 2023, the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund published a report titled Vape Waste, which included the following statement:

One product stands apart as being particularly harmful to our environment and public health—disposable vapes. Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, are handheld battery powered electronic devices with heated metal coils that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products, known as e-liquid. Nicotine is the famously addictive stimulant found in tobacco that gives smokers a dopamine hit, and makes quitting difficult. … Due to the nicotine e-liquid used in these products, vape waste can’t be recycled with other plastics because the substance is defined by the EPA as an acute hazardous waste. Disposable vapes can’t be reused, they can’t be recycled properly, and they can’t legally be thrown in the trash. What are consumers supposed to do with these products? Is it any wonder they’re an environmental threat?^[5]

In response to concerns regarding the proliferation of battery-embedded cannabis and tobacco vaping products and the potential for those products to continue to be disposed of improperly, AB 762 (Irwin) has been introduced to prohibit the sale of all disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices in California that are either not refillable or rechargeable. While AB 762 bill originally did not specify its application to tobacco or cannabis products, subsequent amendments exempted cannabis products from the bill’s prohibitions. AB 762 is currently pending consideration in the Senate.

This bill would seek to further address the improper disposal of vaping products containing batteries. First, the bill would require the DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school. The bill requires this evaluation to ensure consistency with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. The DTSC is also directed to identify any recommendations that require future legislative action.

Second, this bill would authorize a permanent HHW collection facility to, after consulting with the certified unified program agency and the entity responsible for fire protection, mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials. These activities would be required to be described in the facility’s operation plan that is available for review by the certified unified program agency and included in a permit-by-rule application authorized by the agency. Additionally, personnel would be required to receive adequate training to ensure safe management and operations.

Advertisements of Cannabis Products to Minors Generally. Prior to the AUMA being passed by the voters, arguments both for and against the initiative frequently focused on a debate over whether Proposition 64 would adequately protect children from exposure to the cannabis industry. In the official text of Proposition 64, the purpose and intent of the initiative was stated to include an intention to “prohibit the marketing and advertising of nonmedical marijuana to persons younger than 21 years old or near schools or other places where children are present.” Proposition 64 included a number of specified safeguards for minors, including:

• Prohibiting consumption of cannabis outside a residence within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, or youth center while children are present.
• Requiring child-resistant packaging for cannabis products.
• Prohibiting packages and labels from being made to be attractive to children.
• Providing that cannabis products shall not be designed to be appealing to children or easily confused with commercially sold candy or foods that do not contain marijuana.
• Prohibiting cannabis businesses from being located within 600 feet of schools and other areas where children congregate.
• Authorizing a licensing authority to deny a license if there is an unreasonable risk of minors being exposed to cannabis or cannabis products.
• Expressly prohibiting businesses selling recreational cannabis to minors under 21 or employing minors under 21.

The AUMA further required that “any advertising or marketing involving direct, individualized communication or dialogue controlled by the licensee shall utilize a method of age affirmation to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older prior to engaging in such communication or dialogue controlled by the licensee.”

Additionally, Proposition 64 included a prohibition against “advertising or marketing containing symbols, language, music, gestures, cartoon characters or other content elements known to appeal primarily to persons below the legal age of consumption.” This language was simplified when MCRSA and the AUMA were reconciled through the enactment of SB 94. Under MAUCRSA, licensees are instead prohibited more generally from publishing or disseminating “advertising or marketing that is attractive to children.” However, similar language was incorporated into regulations promulgated by the Bureau of Cannabis Control.

MAUCRSA currently prohibits individuals and entities engaged in commercial cannabis activity, whether licensed or unlicensed, from advertising or marketing cannabis or cannabis products in a manner intended to encourage persons under 21 years of age to consume cannabis or cannabis products. MAUCRSA further prohibits publishing or disseminating advertising or marketing that is attractive to children. Cannabis or cannabis products also cannot be advertised or marketed on a sign within 1,000 feet of a daycare center, school providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, playground, or youth center.

The regulations adopted to consolidate the state’s cannabis regulators in 2021 further scaled down the number of examples of what types of advertising would be deemed “attractive to children.” The specific examples of “toys, inflatables, movie characters, [and] cartoon characters” were replaced with a prohibition against cartoons, depictions of minors, or “any likeness to images, characters, or phrases that are popularly used to advertise to children.” The revised regulations also incorporated other prohibition language previously applied only to labeling requirements into the more general advertising restrictions. This includes prohibitions against products containing any imitation of candy packaging or labeling or using the term “candy” or “candies” or variants in spelling such as “kandy” or “kandeez.” The regulations also prohibit the advertising of free cannabis goods or accessories.

While these prohibitions are contained in provisions of the DCC’s regulations relating to advertising and marketing, these prohibitions apply to the packaging and labeling of cannabis goods as well. MAUCRSA requires the DCC to promulgate regulations to set standards for the manufacturing, packaging, and labeling of all manufactured cannabis products. The DCC’s regulations specifically cross-reference the advertising content restrictions in language prohibiting cannabis goods labeling from containing “content that is, or is designed to be, attractive to individuals under the age of 21.” The DCC’s regulations further prohibit the selling of “any cannabis product that the Department determines, on a case-by-case basis,” to be either “attractive to children” based on the above criteria, or “easily confused with commercially available foods that do not contain cannabis.”

In August 2025, the California State Auditor (CSA) released an audit of the DCC’s enforcement of laws prohibiting cannabis products from being advertised, marketed, or labeled in a manner that is attractive to children. The CSA report determined that “state law and DCC’s regulations about design elements that are attractive to children are unspecific, leading to subjective and sometimes inconsistent determinations of whether cannabis product packaging is compliant.” The CSA recommended that the Legislature clarify what design elements are prohibited from cannabis packaging.^[6]

Usage of Vaping Products by Minors. Health experts and educators have raised serious concerns about the rapid increase in vaping popularity among minors.^[7] Usage often takes place on school campuses; in fact, reports indicate that many underage vaping product users were first exposed to vaping in school.^[8] As school administrators and teachers have attempted to curb the use of vaping products on campus, it has been reported that many vape products are manufactured to conceal their nature by imitating other products like common school supplies.

This bill would place additional prohibitions on all vaping products, including both cannabis and tobacco products, aimed at reducing underage use. First, the bill seeks to curb surreptitious use by prohibiting vaping products from imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults. Second, the bill would prohibit vaping products from having certain elements that are attractive to minors, including branding that is known to appeal to minors, including branding based on or depicting a character, personality, or symbol known to appeal to minors, including a character in a comic book, movie, television show, or videogame, or a mythical creature. The bill would additionally prohibit interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.

Current Related Legislation. AB 2249 (Irwin) would define “attractive to children” for purposes of unlawful cannabis labeling, require the DCC to publish a standardized rubric for determining whether cannabis product labeling is attractive to children, and require the DCC to implement a process by which a licensee may voluntarily request a written determination of whether a proposed packaging or labeling of a cannabis product is attractive to children. This bill is pending in this committee.

AB 762 (Irwin) would prohibit the sale of disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation devices. This bill is pending in the Senate Committee on Rules.

Prior Related Legislation. SB 1348 (Ashby), Chapter 899, Statutes of 2024 authorized state and local prosecutors to bring an action for injunctive relief and civil penalties against individuals engaged in commercial cannabis or industrial hemp activity for violations of laws intended to restrict the advertising and marketing of cannabis and hemp products to minors, and extended those laws to apply to individuals operating without a license or registration.

SB 540 (Laird, Chapter 491, Statutes of 2023) required the DCC to regularly reevaluate its regulations and determine whether additional warning labels are necessary to reflect evolving science regarding the risks of cannabis use and to create a brochure that includes steps for safer use of cannabis.

AB 1207 (Irwin) of 2023 would have placed additional restrictions on the advertising, marketing, packaging, and labeling of cannabis and cannabis products. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.

AB 1894 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 390, Statutes of 2022 placed new requirements and restrictions for the packages and labels of integrated cannabis vaporizers, as well as for the advertisement and marketing of those products.

AB 2440 (Irwin), Chapter 351, Statutes of 2022 enacted the Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022, which requires producers of covered batteries, as defined, to establish a stewardship program for the collection and recycling of covered batteries.

SB 1215 (Newman), Chapter 370, Statutes of 2022 expanded the Electronic Waste Recycling Act to include battery embedded products.

AB 1690 (Luz Rivas) of 2022 would have prohibited the sale of single-use electronic cigarettes. This bill died on the inactive file of the Assembly Floor.

SB 793 (Hill), Chapter 34, Statutes of 2020 prohibited a tobacco retailer, or any of its agents or employees from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer.

AB 1529 (Low), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2019 reduced the minimum size of the universal cannabis symbol required on integrated cannabis vaporizers.

SB 94 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 27, Statutes of 2017 established a unified system for the regulation of cannabis which included a prohibition against cannabis retailers selling tobacco products.

AB 273 (Irwin) of 2021 would have placed numerous restrictions on the content of outdoor advertising by cannabis businesses and required a licensing authority to suspend the license of any licensee who violates those restrictions for one year. This bill failed passage in this committee.

SB 94 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 27, Statutes of 2017) combined AUMA and MCRSA into a unified system for the regulation of cannabis, MAUCRSA.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:

The Rural County Representatives of California, the sponsor of this bill, writes in conjunction with a broad coalition of other stakeholders in support: “Vapes are increasingly designed and marketed to appeal to minors and young adults - often in ways that are deceptive or intended to increase the level of addiction. Some vapes now contain integrated video games that are intended to increase the user’s interaction with the device. Other vapes are manufactured to be nearly indistinguishable from common school supplies like highlighters and markers or household items like key fobs, watches, and even hoodies. Disguised vapes are harder for educators to detect and also pose heightened fire risks for collection trucks and solid waste facilities. This is because vapes contain batteries that can explode violently and quickly cause massive amounts of damage. By being nearly indistinguishable from ordinary consumer goods, disguised vapes are much more likely to avoid detection and make their way into recycling facilities and landfills, which significantly increases the risk of compaction and fire.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:

There is no opposition on file.

REGISTERED SUPPORT:

Rural County Representatives of California (Sponsor)

A Voice for Choice Advocacy

Alameda County Office of Education
Association of California School Administrators
California Cannabis Operators Association
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste
County of Santa Barbara

County of Shasta
Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
ReThinkWaste
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
StopWaste
SWANA California Chapters Legislative Task Force
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

REGISTERED OPPOSITION:

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Robert Sumner / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301

1. California Department of Public Health. Key Findings from the 2023 Online California Adult Tobacco Survey. California Tobacco Prevention Program, January 2024. ↑

2. Clodfelter, Rachel, et al. Annual Results Report for the California Youth Tobacco Survey 2023. RTI International, March 2024. ↑

3. Arcview Market Research, and BDS Analytics. The State of Legal Cannabis Markets: 8th Edition. Arcview Group, April 2020. ↑

4. United States Environmental Protection Agency. An Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Fires in Waste Management and Recycling. EPA 530-R-21-002, July 2021. ↑

5. Gutterman, Lucas. Vape Waste: The Environmental Harms of Disposable Vapes. U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 11 July 2023. ↑

6. California State Auditor. Department of Cannabis Control: Unclear Rules and Insufficient Enforcement Hamper Its Ability to Identify Packaging That Is Attractive to Children. Report No. 2024-105, August 2025. ↑

7. Cole, Adam G., et al. “California School Staff Reports of Seeing Students Vaping at School and Disciplinary Actions.” Journal of School Nursing, vol. 40, no. 6, December 2024. ↑

8. Schiff, Samantha J., et al. “Accessing Vaping Products When Underage: A Qualitative Study of Young Adults in Southern California.” Nicotine & Tobacco Research, vol. 23, no. 5, May 2021. ↑

Date of Hearing: March 24, 2026

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS

Damon Connolly, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2667 (

Author:Hadwick) – As Introduced Ver:February 20, 2026

SUBJECT: Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school. Authorizes household hazard waste (HHW) facilities to mechanically disassemble vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes. Prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the vape product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors, or uses branding that is known to appeal to minors. Specifically, this bill:

1) Requires, until January 1, 2030, DTSC to evaluate opportunities to increase safety and convenience related to the management and disposal of vape pens and devices confiscated from students by a school. Requires the evaluation to ensure consistency with the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), as amended (42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.). Requires DTSC to identify any recommendations that require future legislative action.

2) Authorizes a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility to, after consultation with the certified unified program agency and the entity responsible for fire protection, mechanically disassemble vape pens and devices to separate batteries, valves, electronic components, and other parts containing liquids or gases, in a manner that does not result in the unauthorized release of hazardous materials.

3) Defines "vape pen and device" as an electronic device that is powered by one or more removable or embedded batteries and that delivers solely, or a combination of, nicotine, cannabis, or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, hookah, or other delivery mechanism.

4) Prohibits a person from marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product in the state by doing any of the following:

a) Imitating a product that is not a vape product to conceal the nature of the vape product from parents, teachers, or other adults, including by any of the following:

i) Imitating a food or brand of food product commonly marketed to minors, including candy, desserts, and beverages;

ii) Imitating school supplies commonly used by minors, including erasers, highlighters, pens, and pencils; or,

iii) Constructing into clothing and accessories that could be marketed to minors;

b) Using branding that is known to appeal to minors, including branding based on or depicting a character, personality, or symbol known to appeal to minors, including a character in a comic book, movie, television show, or videogame, or a mythical creature; and,

c) Including interactive videogame capabilities within a vape product.

5) Authorizes a city, a county, a city and county or the state to impose a civil liability on a person or entity for a violation of the prohibition of marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product as specified in this bill.

6) Requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to revoke or suspend a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco product, pursuant to the provisions applicable to the revocation or suspension of a license set forth in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, of any person with a license who is in violation of the prohibition of marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product as specified in this bill.

7) Requires the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to revoke or suspend a license issued by DCC, pursuant to the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, of any person with a license to sell cannabis or a cannabis product who is in violation of the prohibition of marketing, promoting, labeling, branding, advertising, distributing, offering for sale, or selling a vape product as specified in this bill.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes RCRA to authorize the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to manage hazardous and non-hazardous wastes throughout the wastes' life cycle. (42 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 6901, et seq.)
2. Establishes the Hazardous Waste Control Law (HWCL) to authorize DTSC to regulate the management of hazardous wastes in California. (Health and Safety Code (HSC) § 25100, et seq.)
3. Defines "waste" as any solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous discarded material. (HSC § 25124)
4. Defines "hazardous waste" as waste, that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics:
5. Causes, or significantly contributes to, an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or,
6. Poses a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment, due to factors including, but not limited to, carcinogenicity, acute toxicity, chronic toxicity, bio accumulative properties, or persistence in the environment, when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed. (HSC § 25141(b))
7. Defines "household hazardous waste" as hazardous waste generated incidental to owning or maintaining a place of residence, but does not include waste generated in the course of operating a business at a residence. (HSC § 25218.1(e))
8. Establishes that counties and cities will provide services for the collection of HHW and that the state will provide an expedited and streamlined regulatory structure to facilitate the collection of HHW. (HSC § 25218)

7) Enacts the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (EWRA), which established a program for consumers to return, recycle, and ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of video display devices, such as televisions and computer monitors that are hazardous waste when discarded. (Public Resources Code (PRC) § 42460, et seq.)

8) Adds battery-embedded products to the EWRA. (PRC § 42463)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Need for the bill: According to the author, "Manufacturers are deceptively designing and marketing vapes to children. These vapes are disguised as everyday items, like school supplies or clothing. Some have features intentionally designed to increase dependency and addiction, like built-in video games. Schools are increasingly confiscating these vapes, yet they lack practical options to safely manage and dispose of them. Similarly, local household hazardous waste facilities receiving these vapes are unable to identify them and disassemble them, increasing costs and fire hazards.

Assembly Bill 2667 cracks down on these dangerous devices by banning disguised and interactive vapes. It also gives schools and local governments the tools to safely manage and dispose of vape waste. This bill protects kids, supports schools, and ensures hazardous materials are handled responsibly."

Hazardous waste management: Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it potentially dangerous or harmful to human health or the environment. In regulatory terms, a waste is hazardous if it appears on a RCRA hazardous wastes list or exhibits one of the four characteristics of a hazardous waste: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity. However, materials can be hazardous waste even if they are not specifically listed or do not exhibit any characteristic of a hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash and must be properly transported and disposed of at permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities or at a recycling facility.

Regulation of batteries: State law, the HWCL, prohibits the disposal of batteries in the trash or household recycling collection bins intended to receive other non-hazardous waste and/or recyclable materials. Many types of batteries, regardless of size, exhibit hazardous characteristics and are considered hazardous waste when they are discarded. These include single use alkaline and lithium batteries and rechargeable lithium metal, nickel cadmium, and nickel metal hydride batteries of various sizes (AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-Volt, and small sealed lead-acid batteries). Many batteries are sold within products, such as lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in portable electronics like laptops, smart phones, digital cameras, game consoles, and cordless power tools. Single use vape devices usually contain a lithium-ion battery, making them hazardous waste at the end of life of the product.

Fire risks: Because lithium-ion batteries contain hazardous and corrosive materials, they also pose a fire risk if not stored or disposed of properly. Therefore, any program to manage used lithium-ion batteries needs to account for this possible fire risk.

HHW collection: Many common household products are also hazardous, and when these products are discarded, they become "HHW." Common HHW includes, but is not limited to, antifreeze, glue and adhesives, pesticides, used oil, batteries, electronic wastes, and household cleaners. In California, HHW is prohibited from being disposed of in the trash, down the drain, or by abandonment, and must be disposed of through a HHW Program. Most HHW programs are run by local government agencies such as cities or counties.

This bill: Authorizes HHW facilities to mechanically disassembly vapes so that those facilities may separately process the components of the vapes, such as recycling the battery.

Recent legislation regarding vapes in schools: AB 998 (Hadwick, 2025) would have authorized a school to transport and manage confiscated vape pens as HHW. However, there appears to be a conflict with that policy within AB 998 with federal regulations, meaning schools may not transport vape pens as HHW. This would mean that schools would have to treat confiscated vape products as hazardous waste. AB 998 was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This bill: Given the potential conflict with federal regulations with AB 998, as an alternative AB 2667 requires DTSC to evaluate opportunities for the safe management of vape pens confiscated from students at a school.

Environmental impacts of disposable vapes: In the 2023 report, "Vape waste: The environmental harms of disposable vapes," the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund states:

"One product stands apart as being particularly harmful to our environment and public health—disposable vapes. Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, are handheld battery powered electronic devices with heated metal coils that vaporize a liquid containing nicotine or cannabis products, known as e-liquid. Nicotine is the famously addictive stimulant found in tobacco that gives smokers a dopamine hit, and makes quitting difficult. Much has been made of the public health harms of disposable vapes, but this report aims to understand their effects as hazardous electronic waste.

It doesn’t make any sense to manufacture electronics with rechargeable batteries, ship them across the world, and throw them out within a few days. Disposable vapes are single-use products powered by the same rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars and iPhones. However, unlike traditional vapes, they’re designed to be thrown out after use. That’s because while some can be recharged with a USB cable, once they run out of the included e-liquid they can’t be refilled.

After the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) February 2020 crackdown on flavored nicotine e-liquid cartridges for reusable vapes, sales of disposable brands increased 196.2% by March 2023, according to the CDC Foundation. The FDA’s decision prohibited the sale of flavored pre-filled nicotine vape cartridges exemplified by popular brand JUUL, but didn’t mention disposable vapes. This sin of omission created a gray market and by March [2023] sales of disposable products increased to 11.9 million units a month and have overtaken cartridges market share at 53% of vape sales. At this rate, we throw out 4.5 disposable vapes per second.

Electronic waste produced from disposable vapes includes both the circuit boards and lithium ion batteries that power the device. These boards contain some of the heavy metals mentioned above, which can leach into the groundwater. Due to the nicotine e-liquid used in these products, vape waste can’t be recycled with other plastics because the substance is defined by the [US] EPA as an acute hazardous waste."

Marketing of vapes that look like harmless school supplies: This bill additionally prohibits anyone from selling, marketing, advertising, or distributing a vape product if the product imitates a food marketed to minors, such as candy; if the vape imitates school supplies commonly used by minors, or uses branding that is known to appeal to minors. When vape products are made to look like school supplies, it further burdens schools when addressing vape use at schools. Additionally, when vape products look like school supplies, it is very likely that they will end up in the solid waste stream. This could lead to increased fires in solid waste trucks and solid waste landfills. To illustrate this point, below are vape products that look like hi-lighters:

Technical consideration: As this bill moves through the process, the author and stakeholders may wish to consider requiring DTSC to either post the evaluation of management opportunities for schools when dealing with confiscated vape products on DTSC's website, or provide it to the Legislature.

Arguments in support: According to a coalition of groups including Rural County Representatives of California, Zero Waste Marin, Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC), California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), Los Angeles Unified School District, Republic Services, and Recology,

"Assembly Bill 2667 seeks to protect children, young adults, and the public by: 1) Banning disguised vapes and vapes containing video display devices, 2) Providing an easier regulatory pathway for schools to properly dispose of vapes confiscated from students, and 3) Improving the safe collection, management, and proper disposal of vapes by local household hazardous waste (HHW) collection facilities."

Arguments in opposition: None on file.

Double-referral: Should this bill pass the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, it will be re-referred to the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.

Related legislation:

1) AB 762 (Irwin). Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2027, a person from importing or manufacturing for sale in this state a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device, and beginning January 1, 2028, a person from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device in this state. This bill is pending referral in the Senate.

2) AB 998 (Hadwick, 2025). Would have authorized a school to transport and manage confiscated vape pens as HHW. Would have authorized a HHW collection facility to disassemble HHW, including separating batteries, valves and electronic components. This bill was held on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

3) AB 2481 (Smith, Chapter 499, Statutes of 2022). Made various changes to the statutory requirements for the transportation of hazardous waste and the operation of HHW collection facilities.

4) SB 552 (Archuleta, Chapter 481, Statutes of 2019). Authorized the use of consolidated manifests in the transportation of HHW in door-to-door HHW collection programs.

5) SB 726 (Caballero, Chapter 485, Statutes of 2019). Authorized a public agency’s contractor to conduct HHW materials exchange programs.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Rural County Representatives of California (Sponsor)

Association of California School Administrators
California Cannabis Operators Association 
California Product Stewardship Council
Californians Against Waste

County of Santa Barbara

Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority

League of California Cities
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Stewardship Action Council
Parents Against Vaping
Recology
Republic Services
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Rural Counties Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority
Western Placer Waste Management Authority
Zero Waste Marin

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Josh Tooker / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965