(a) Upon a written finding that a producer, program operator, stewardship organization, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, importer, recycler, or collection site has not met a material requirement of this chapter, in addition to any other penalties authorized under this chapter, the department may, after affording the entity a reasonable opportunity to respond to, or rebut, the finding, take any of the following actions to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter:

(1) Revoke the program operator’s stewardship plan approval or require the program operator to resubmit the plan.

(2) Remove the producer, along with its brands and covered batteries from the department’s list of compliant producers, as specified in Section 42425.

(3) Impose additional compliance reporting requirements.

(4) Post the noncompliant entity onto a list of noncompliant entities.

(b) If a stewardship plan is revoked pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or terminated by the program operator that submitted the plan, a producer no longer subject to that plan may, without being subject to administrative civil penalties pursuant to Section 42425.1, sell or offer for sale covered batteries in or into the state for a period of up to one year after the stewardship plan was terminated or revoked if the producer continues to operate under the most recent approved stewardship plan to which the producer was subject.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 351, Sec. 1. (AB 2440) Effective January 1, 2023.)