CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1185
Chapter 339, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
MERCURY-CONTAINING LIGHTS
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the House March 5, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 54 Nays 42
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE
BILL 1185 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate March 1, 2024
Yeas 29 Nays 20
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved March 28, 2024 2:23 PM FILED
March 29, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1185
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Environment & Energy (originally sponsored by
Representatives Hackney, Duerr, Berry, Ramel, Fitzgibbon, Doglio, and
Pollet)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to reducing environmental impacts associated with
2 lighting products; amending RCW 70A.230.020, 70A.505.010,
3 70A.505.020, 70A.505.030, 70A.505.040, 70A.505.050, 70A.505.060,
4 70A.505.070, 70A.505.100, 70A.505.110, 70A.505.120, 70A.505.130,
5 70A.505.160, 82.04.660, and 70A.230.080; reenacting and amending RCW
6 43.21B.110; adding a new section to chapter 70A.505 RCW; adding a new
7 section to chapter 70A.230 RCW; repealing RCW 70A.505.090, 82.04.660,
8 43.131.421, 43.131.422, 70A.230.150, 70A.505.010, 70A.505.020,
9 70A.505.030, 70A.505.040, 70A.505.050, 70A.505.060, 70A.505.070,
10 70A.505.080, 70A.505.090, 70A.505.100, 70A.505.110, 70A.505.120,
11 70A.505.130, 70A.505.140, 70A.505.150, 70A.505.160, 70A.505.900, and
12 70A.505.901; prescribing penalties; and providing effective dates.
13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that in 2025 the
15 state's stewardship program for the end-of-life management of
16 mercury-containing lights is statutorily scheduled to undergo review
17 and termination or possible extension under chapter 43.131 RCW, the
18 sunset act. If the mercury-containing lights product stewardship
19 program were allowed to sunset as scheduled, Washington residents
20 would lose a consistent, convenient, and safe way to return unwanted
21 mercury-containing lights, which will remain in use for years as
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 1 existing inventory winds down, even as the lighting industry has
2 moved away from most mercury-containing lights. Mercury-containing
3 lights present such a significant health risk that other states have
4 recently restricted their sale, which represents a solution to reduce
5 the public health impacts of new lighting products, but does not
6 address the end-of-life management issues associated with the
7 existing light bulbs currently in use.
8 (2) The state's existing mercury-containing lights program, which
9 was first enacted over a decade ago, contains policy provisions,
10 including the establishment of a per-bulb fee attached to the sale of
11 mercury-containing lights, that are now recognized as not
12 representing the best practices for the design of stewardship
13 programs.
14 (3) Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to:
15 (a) Restrict the sale of most mercury-containing lights;
16 (b) Extend the implementation of the stewardship program for
17 mercury-containing lights; and
18 (c) Modernize key elements of the state's mercury-containing
19 lights stewardship program.
20 Sec. 2. RCW 70A.230.020 and 2003 c 260 s 3 are each amended to
21 read as follows:
22 (1) Effective January 1, 2004, a manufacturer, wholesaler, or
23 retailer may not knowingly sell at retail a fluorescent lamp if the
24 fluorescent lamp contains mercury and was manufactured after November
25 30, 2003, unless the fluorescent lamp is labeled in accordance with
26 the guidelines listed under subsection (2) of this section. Primary
27 responsibility for affixing labels required under this section is on
28 the manufacturer, and not on the wholesaler or retailer.
29 (2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a lamp
30 is considered labeled pursuant to subsection (1) of this section if
31 the lamp has all of the following:
32 (a) A label affixed to the lamp that displays the internationally
33 recognized symbol for the element mercury; and
34 (b) A label on the lamp's packaging that: (i) Clearly informs the
35 purchaser that mercury is present in the item; (ii) explains that the
36 fluorescent lamp should be disposed of according to applicable
37 federal, state, and local laws; and (iii) provides a toll-free
38 telephone number, and a uniform resource locator internet address to
39 a website, that contains information on applicable disposal laws.
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 1 (3) The manufacturer of a mercury-added lamp is in compliance
2 with the requirements of this section if the manufacturer is in
3 compliance with the labeling requirements of another state.
4 (4) The provisions of this section do not apply to products
5 containing mercury-added lamps.
6 (5)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, beginning
7 January 1, 2029, a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer may not
8 knowingly sell a compact fluorescent lamp or linear fluorescent lamp.
9 (b) In-state distributors, wholesalers, and retailers in
10 possession of compact fluorescent lamps or linear fluorescent lamps
11 on January 1, 2029, may exhaust their existing stock through sales to
12 the public until July 1, 2029.
13 (6) The provisions of subsection (5) of this section do not apply
14 to:
15 (a) A special purpose mercury-containing light;
16 (b) The products specified in RCW 70A.230.110; or
17 (c) The sale or purchase of compact fluorescent lamps or linear
18 fluorescent lamps as a casual or isolated sale as defined in RCW
19 82.04.040.
20 (7) A violation of this section is punishable by a civil penalty
21 not to exceed $1,000 for each violation in the case of a first
22 violation. Repeat violators are liable for a civil penalty not to
23 exceed $5,000 for each repeat violation. Penalties collected under
24 this section must be deposited in the model toxics control operating
25 account created in RCW 70A.305.180. Penalties imposed under this
26 section are appealable to the pollution control hearings board
27 established in chapter 43.21B RCW.
28 (8) The department may adopt rules to implement, administer, and
29 enforce the requirements of this section.
30 (9) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
31 section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
32 (a) "Compact fluorescent lamp" means a compact low-pressure,
33 mercury-containing, electric-discharge light source in which a
34 fluorescent coating transforms some of the ultraviolet energy
35 generated by the mercury discharge into visible light, and includes
36 all of the following characteristics:
37 (i) One base (end cap) of any type including, but not limited to,
38 screw, bayonet, two pins, and four pins;
39 (ii) Integrally ballasted or nonintegrally ballasted;
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 1 (iii) Light emission between a correlated color temperature of
2 1700K and 24000K and a Duv of +0.024 and -0.024 in the international
3 commission on illumination (CIE) uniform color space (CAM02-UCS);
4 (iv) All tube diameters and all tube lengths;
5 (v) All lamp sizes and shapes for directional and nondirectional
6 installations including, but not limited to, PL, spiral, twin tube,
7 triple twin, 2D, U-bend, and circular.
8 (b) "Linear fluorescent lamp" means a low-pressure, mercury-
9 containing, electric-discharge light source in which a fluorescent
10 coating transforms some of the ultraviolet energy generated by the
11 mercury discharge into visible light, and includes all of the
12 following characteristics:
13 (i) Two bases (end caps) of any type including, but not limited
14 to, single-pin, two-pin, and recessed double contact;
15 (ii) Light emission between a correlated color temperature of
16 1700K and 24000K and a Duv of +0.024 and -0.024 in the CIE CAM02-UCS;
17 (iii) All tube diameters including, but not limited to, T5, T8,
18 T10, and T12;
19 (iv) All tube lengths from 0.5 to 8.0 feet, inclusive; and
20 (v) All lamp shapes including, but not limited to, linear, U-
21 bend, and circular.
22 (c) "Special purpose mercury-containing light" includes any of
23 the following lights that contain mercury:
24 (i) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for image capture
25 and projection, including photocopying, printing, either directly or
26 in preprocessing, lithography, film and video projection, and
27 holography; or
28 (ii) A lamp that has a high proportion of ultraviolet light
29 emission and is one of the following:
30 (A) A lamp with high ultraviolet content that has ultraviolet
31 power greater than two milliwatts per kilolumen (mW/klm);
32 (B) A lamp for germicidal use, such as the destruction of DNA,
33 that emits a peak radiation of approximately 253.7 nanometers;
34 (C) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for disinfection or
35 fly trapping from which either the radiation power emitted between
36 250 and 315 nanometers represents at least five percent of, or the
37 radiation power emitted between 315 and 400 nanometers represents at
38 least 20 percent of, the total radiation power emitted between 250
39 and 800 nanometers;
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 1 (D) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for the generation
2 of ozone where the primary purpose is to emit radiation at
3 approximately 185.1 nanometers;
4 (E) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for coral
5 zooxanthellae symbiosis from which the radiation power emitted
6 between 400 and 480 nanometers represents at least 40 percent of the
7 total radiation power emitted between 250 and 800 nanometers;
8 (F) Any lamp designed and marketed exclusively in a sunlamp
9 product, defined as any electronic product designed to incorporate
10 one or more ultraviolet lamps and intended for irradiation of any
11 part of the living human body, by ultraviolet radiation;
12 (G) Any lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in a
13 sunlamp product, as defined in 21 C.F.R. Sec. 1040.20(b)(9), January
14 1, 2023;
15 (H) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in medical
16 or veterinary diagnosis or treatment, or in a medical device;
17 (I) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in the
18 manufacturing or quality control of pharmaceutical products;
19 (J) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for spectroscopy and
20 photometric applications, such as UV-visible spectroscopy, molecular
21 spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, nondispersive infrared
22 (NDIR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), medical analysis,
23 ellipsometry, layer thickness measurement, process monitoring, or
24 environmental monitoring;
25 (K) A lamp used by academic and research institutions for
26 conducting research projects and experiments; or
27 (L) A compact fluorescent lamp used to replace a lamp in a motor
28 vehicle manufactured on or before January 1, 2020.
29 Sec. 3. RCW 70A.505.010 and 2010 c 130 s 1 are each amended to
30 read as follows:
31 The legislature finds that:
32 (1) Mercury is an essential component of many energy efficient
33 lights. Improper disposal methods will lead to mercury releases that
34 threaten the environment and harm human health. Spent mercury
35 lighting is a hard to collect waste product that is appropriate for
36 product stewardship;
37 (2) Convenient and environmentally sound product stewardship
38 programs for mercury-containing lights that include collecting,
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 1 transporting, and recycling mercury-containing lights will help
2 protect Washington's environment and the health of state residents;
3 (3)(a) The purpose of this chapter ((130, Laws of 2010)) is to
4 achieve a statewide goal of recycling all end-of-life mercury-
5 containing lights ((by 2020)) through expanded public education, a
6 uniform statewide requirement to recycle all mercury-containing
7 lights, and the development of a comprehensive, safe, and convenient
8 collection system that includes use of residential curbside
9 collection programs, mail-back containers, increased support for
10 household hazardous waste facilities, and a network of additional
11 collection locations;
12 (b) The purpose of this act is to reduce exposure to mercury by
13 prohibiting the sale of most mercury-containing lights beginning in
14 2029 and to provide continuing collection of mercury-containing
15 lights that have already entered the marketplace;
16 (4) Product producers must play a significant role in financing
17 no-cost collection and processing programs for mercury-containing
18 lights; and
19 (5) Providers of premium collection services such as residential
20 curbside and mail-back programs may charge a fee to cover the
21 collection costs for these more convenient forms of collection.
22 Sec. 4. RCW 70A.505.020 and 2020 c 20 s 1414 are each amended to
23 read as follows:
24 The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
25 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
26 (1) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, or mark that identifies a
27 product, rather than its components, and attributes the product to
28 the owner of the brand as the producer.
29 (2) "Collection" or "collect" means, except for persons involved
30 in mail-back programs:
31 (a) The activity of accumulating any amount of mercury-containing
32 lights at a location other than the location where the lights are
33 used by covered entities, and includes curbside collection
34 activities, household hazardous waste facilities, and other
35 registered drop-off locations; and
36 (b) The activity of transporting mercury-containing lights in the
37 state, where the transporter is not a generator of unwanted mercury-
38 containing lights, to a location for purposes of accumulation.
39 (3) "Covered entities" means:
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 1 (a) A household generator or other person who purchases mercury-
2 containing lights at retail and delivers no more than ((ten)) the
3 following amounts of mercury-containing lights to registered
4 collectors for a product stewardship program on any given day:
5 (i) An unlimited number of compact fluorescent lamps, as defined
6 in RCW 70A.230.020, that are mercury-containing lights under this
7 chapter and that feature a screw base;
8 (ii) 15 pin-based compact or linear fluorescent lamps, as defined
9 in RCW 70A.230.020, that are mercury-containing lights under this
10 chapter; and
11 (iii) Two high-intensity discharge lamps that are mercury-
12 containing lights under this chapter; and
13 (b) A household generator or other person who purchases mercury-
14 containing lights at retail and utilizes a registered residential
15 curbside collection program or a mail-back program for collection of
16 mercury-containing lights and discards no more than ((fifteen)) 15
17 mercury-containing lights into those programs on any given day.
18 (4) "Department" means the department of ecology.
19 (5) "Environmental handling charge" or "charge" means the charge
20 approved by the department to be applied to each mercury-containing
21 light to be sold at retail in or into Washington state until December
22 31, 2028. The environmental handling charge must cover ((all))
23 current administrative and operational costs associated with the
24 product stewardship program, including the fee for the department's
25 administration and enforcement.
26 (6) "Final disposition" means the point beyond which no further
27 processing takes place and materials from mercury-containing lights
28 have been transformed for direct use as a feedstock in producing new
29 products, or disposed of or managed in permitted facilities.
30 (7) "Hazardous substances" or "hazardous materials" means those
31 substances or materials identifi