This bill amends chapter 70A.510 RCW and adds a new section to create a regulatory stewardship and takeback program for photovoltaic modules administered by the Department of Ecology. It requires manufacturers (including importers and brand owners) to prepare, submit, and implement department‑approved stewardship plans by January 31, 2028 (or within 30 days of first sale in the state), or to participate in a designated stewardship organization. Stewardship plans must accept modules sold in or into Washington after July 1, 2017, include performance goals (including a combined reuse and recycling rate of collected modules of at least 85% by weight), allow periodic amendments with department approval, and require annual public reporting by April 1 on plan implementation and goal performance. The bill establishes procedural and administrative changes: the Department of Ecology must develop guidance and may adopt rules, assess administrative and annual fees to fund program costs, and deposit all fees into a new photovoltaic module recycling account in the state treasury for use only to administer the chapter. It authorizes the department to issue written warnings to nonparticipating manufacturers and to distributors/retailers/installers selling nonparticipating manufacturers’ modules, requires compliance within 30 days of notice, and authorizes penalties of up to $10,000 per sale after the initial warning; penalty notices may be appealed to the Superior Court of Thurston County within 180 days. Beginning January 31, 2029, no photovoltaic module may be sold or offered for sale in or into the state unless the module’s manufacturer has an approved stewardship plan. The bill also creates a temporary advisory committee and requires the department to contract with an independent consultant to support the committee’s work; the consultant must report to the department by June 1, 2026, and the department must report recommended changes to the legislature by December 1, 2026. The advisory committee provisions expire July 1, 2028, and the act takes effect June 30, 2025. Some details are missing from the provided text: the exact fee‑calculation language is incomplete, and the full contents of subsection (5)(a) that specify required stewardship plan elements are not included in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the law would require photovoltaic module manufacturers to finance and run a takeback and recycling system meeting state guidance, including a combined reuse and recycling target of at least 85% by weight, accept modules sold since July 1, 2017, submit approved stewardship plans by January 31, 2028, and face a ban on selling modules in Washington after January 31, 2029 unless their plan is approved. In practice this means manufacturers will have new ongoing responsibilities and likely new costs to design, operate, and report on collection and recycling, and distributors, retailers, and installers could no longer sell modules from nonparticipating manufacturers after the 2029 cutoff; enforcement includes written warnings, fines up to $10,000 per sale after a warning, and an appeal route to Thurston County Superior Court. The Department of Ecology would oversee the program, adopt rules, collect manufacturer fees into a dedicated photovoltaic module recycling account to cover administration, and convene an advisory committee with an independent consultant to recommend a convenient, safe, and material-recovery focused recycling system and report to the legislature by December 1, 2026. Manufacturers can alternatively join a nationally run program if the department finds it substantially equivalent, but must provide a state plan within 30 days if that national program ends or is no longer equivalent. The provided text omits the precise fee calculation method and the detailed required elements of the stewardship plan, so those cost and program specifics remain unclear.