HB2648 – Tightens the solar PV module stewardship program in some small ways.
Prime Sponsor – Representative Smith (R; 10th District; Island County; Skagit & Snohomish)
Current status – Bill signed, but Section 2 – Study of recycling – vetoed by Governor.
In the House – (Passed)
Had a hearing in the House Committee on Environment and Energy January 27th at 3:30. Amended and passed out of committee February 4th; referred to Rules. Amended on the floor by the prime sponsor and passed by the House February 16th. House concurred with Senate amendments March 10th.

In the Senate – (Passed)
Referred to the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy & Technology. Had a hearing February 20th. Replaced by a striker and passed out of committee February 25th. Referred to Ways and Means; had a hearing there on February 28th. Passed out of committee March 2nd and referred to Rules. Passed by the Senate March 7th. Returned to the House for possible concurrence with Senate amendments.
Next step would be – Signature by the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Governor’s Veto
Governor Inslee signed the bill, but vetoed Section 2, which created a task force to report to the Legislature and make recommendations on potential methods for managing end-of-life photovoltaic modules, because of coronavirus budget concerns.

Comments – The bill only requires notifying retailers, distributors, and installers about violations of the requirement for an approved stewardship plan, but it only imposes potential fines on the manufacturer of the panels.

The amendment in the House committee narrows manufacturers’ obligation to provide takeback locations to regions in which their modules “were used.” It delays the implementation and enforcement of the act for a year, until dates in 2023. It requires the Department of Ecology to create a task force to report to the Legislature and make recommendations on potential methods for managing end-of-life photovoltaic modules, including ones from utility scale projects. It lists a number of issues the report must cover, and a number of required members for the task force, but Ecology can add more.

The floor amendment replaces the Ecology task force with a WSU work group, subject to appropriations.

The committee striker in the Senate delays the date for submitting a stewardship plan by 2.5 years, until July 1, 2022; delays the reporting requirement for manufacturers by an additional year, until 2024; and delays enforcement by six months, until July 1, 2023.

Summary –
It would expand the current legislation to cover ground mounted panels connected to the grid. It would cover modules manufactured for use in the state as well as those for sale; and include panels acquired through remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs, or the internet. It would prohibit distributors, retailers, and installers from selling panels that weren’t covered by an approved stewardship plan, not just manufacturers, and would require the Department of Ecology to send a warning ordering them to stop if the manufacturer had not submitted a plan and gotten it approved by Ecology within thirty days.