An Act to Create a Stewardship Program for Electronic Smoking
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1519
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: GRAMLICH, TEPLER
Amends: 38 MRSA §1617

Legislative Document
No. 1519
H.P. 1004
House of Representatives, April 8, 2025
An Act to Create a Stewardship Program for Electronic Smoking 
Devices and Related Products
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach.
Cosponsored by Senator TEPLER of Sagadahoc and
Representatives: BELL of Yarmouth, BRIDGEO of Augusta, DOUDERA of Camden, OSHER 
of Orono, RIELLY of Westbrook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §1617 is enacted to read:
§1617.  Stewardship program for electronic smoking devices
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Brand" means a name, symbol, word or mark that identifies an electronic smoking 
device, rather than its components, and attributes the device to the owner of the brand.
B.  "Electronic smoking device" or "device" means any device that may be used to 
deliver any aerosolized or vaporized substance to a person inhaling from the device, 
including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic pipe, 
so-called vape pen or electronic hookah.  "Electronic smoking device" includes any 
component, part or accessory of the device and any substance that may be aerosolized 
or vaporized by that device, whether or not the substance contains nicotine.  "Electronic 
smoking device" does not include drugs, devices or combination products authorized 
for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined 
in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
C.  "Electronic smoking device stewardship organization" or "stewardship 
organization" means a corporation, nonprofit organization or other legal entity created 
by a producer or group of producers pursuant to this section to implement an electronic 
smoking device stewardship program.
D.  "Electronic smoking device stewardship plan" or "stewardship plan" means a plan 
to establish an electronic smoking device stewardship program to be submitted to the 
department for review pursuant to subsection 6.
E.  "Electronic smoking device stewardship program" or "program" means the program 
established under this section to provide for the collection, transportation, reuse and 
recycling or disposal, or both, of unwanted electronic smoking devices.
F.  "Producer" means a person that:
(1)  Has legal ownership of the brand of an electronic smoking device sold in or 
into the State;
(2)  Imports an electronic smoking device branded by a person that meets the 
requirements of paragraph A and has no physical presence in the United States; or
(3)  Sells an electronic smoking device in the State at wholesale or retail, does not 
have legal ownership of the brand of the device and elects to fulfill the 
responsibilities of the producer for that device.
G.  "Proprietary information" has the same meaning as in Title 38, section 1771, 
subsection 6-A.
H.  "Recycling" has the same meaning as in Title 38, section 1771, subsection 7.
I.  "Reuse" has the same meaning as in Title 38, section 1771, subsection 8.
J.  "Unwanted electronic smoking device" means an electronic smoking device that is 
no longer wanted by its owner or that has been abandoned or discarded or is intended 
to be discarded by its owner.  
2.  Program.  Pursuant to this section, a producer that sells an electronic smoking 
device in the State shall, individually, collectively or through a stewardship organization, 
implement and finance an electronic smoking device stewardship program to manage, in 
accordance with the priorities in section 2101, unwanted electronic smoking devices sold 
by the producer at the end of the device's life. 
A.  The program must include a collection system for unwanted electronic smoking 
devices that is convenient and adequate to serve the needs of persons in both rural and 
urban areas.  No later than one year following commencement of the collection of 
electronic smoking devices by the program's collection system, the collection system 
must include permanent collection locations located within 15 miles of 90% of the 
residents of the State unless the department determines that the requirements of this 
paragraph are not practicable due to geographical constraints or that an alternative 
collection system that does not meet the requirements of this paragraph will result in 
equivalent and more efficient collection.
B.  The program must provide for effective education and outreach to promote the use 
of the program and to ensure that collection options are understood by the public.
C.  A producer or stewardship organization, including a producer's or stewardship 
organization's officers, members, employees and agents that organize an electronic 
device stewardship program under this section, is immune from liability for the 
producer's or stewardship organization's conduct under state laws relating to antitrust, 
restraint of trade, unfair trade practices and other regulation of trade or commerce only 
to the extent necessary to plan and implement the producer's or stewardship 
organization's chosen organized collection or recycling system.
D.  The program must include at a minimum a half-time employee or contracted agent 
whose job duties are dedicated to implementing the program in the State unless the 
department determines that a lesser staffing requirement is adequate to provide the 
administrative oversight, training and ongoing technical support to collection locations, 
education and outreach efforts, program performance assessment and reporting 
necessary for program implementation.
3.  Requirement for sale.  One hundred eighty days after a stewardship plan submitted 
to the department pursuant to subsection 6 is approved by the department in accordance 
with subsection 7, a producer may not sell or offer for sale in the State an electronic 
smoking device unless the producer participates in an electronic smoking device 
stewardship program under this section in accordance with an approved stewardship plan.
4.  No fee.  An electronic smoking device stewardship program may not charge a person 
a fee at the time an unwanted electronic smoking device is delivered or collected for 
recycling or disposal under the program.
5.  Costs.  Producers participating in an electronic smoking device stewardship 
program shall finance the collection, transportation and reuse, recycling or disposition of 
unwanted electronic smoking devices; effective education and outreach related to the 
program; program assessment; program reporting; any incentives necessary to achieve 
program goals; payment of reasonable fees to the department for review of the producers' 
stewardship plan and any proposed amendments; and payment of annual fees to the 
department to cover the department's actual costs for the program for annual report review, 
oversight, administration and enforcement, which may not exceed $100,000 per year per 
program and which must be properly documented and provided by the department to the 
program prior to or at the time that such payment is required.
6.  Requirement to submit stewardship plan.  On or before November 1, 2026, a 
producer of electronic smoking devices, individually, collectively or through a stewardship 
organization, shall submit a stewardship plan to the department for approval.  The 
stewardship plan must include:
A.  Identification and contact information for:
(1)  The individual or entity submitting the stewardship plan;
(2)  All producers participating in the program;
(3)  The owners of the brands covered by the program; and
(4)  The stewardship organization, if using a stewardship organization, including a 
description of the stewardship organization and the tasks to be performed by the 
stewardship organization.  The description must include information on how the 
stewardship organization is organized, including administration of the stewardship 
organization and management of the stewardship organization;  
B.  A description of the collection system to be implemented under the program, 
including:
(1)  The types of locations or other collection services to be used;
(2)  How all electronic smoking devices covered under the program will be 
collected in all counties of the State; and
(3)  How the collection system will be convenient and adequate to serve the needs 
of all persons seeking to use the program for the management of unwanted 
electronic smoking devices;  
C.  The names and locations of recyclers, processors and disposal facilities that may be 
used by the program;
D.  Information on how the unwanted electronic smoking devices will be safely and 
securely transported, tracked and handled from collection through final disposition;
E.  A description of the methods to be used to reuse, deconstruct and recycle the 
unwanted electronic smoking devices to ensure that the device components are 
transformed or remanufactured to the extent feasible;
F.  A description of how the convenience and adequacy of the collection system will 
be monitored and maintained;
G.  A description of how the amount of unwanted electronic smoking devices collected, 
recycled, processed, reused and disposed of will be measured;
H.  A description of the education and outreach methods that will be used to recruit, 
train and monitor collection locations and to encourage participation in the program on 
an ongoing basis by collection locations and by persons throughout the State;
I.  A description of how education and outreach methods will be evaluated, including, 
at a minimum, completion of an annual consumer awareness survey to assess consumer 
knowledge regarding management options and collection locations for unwanted 
electronic smoking devices.  The survey questions and methodology must be approved 
by the department, and the survey must be administered by a qualified 3rd party;
J.  A description of how program performance will be assessed, including performance 
goals to show success of the program.  When a performance goal is expressed as a 
recycling rate or a diversion from disposal rate, the stewardship plan must include a 
description of the methodology and the relevant historic sales data used to develop the 
rate.  Sales information submitted to the department pursuant to this paragraph that is 
identified by the producer or stewardship organization as proprietary information is 
confidential and must be handled by the department in accordance with subsection 11.  
The performance goals under this paragraph must include, at a minimum, one of the 
following:
(1)  That at least 50% of the residents of the State will be aware of the program by 
no later than the end of the 3rd year of program implementation and at least 70% 
of the residents of the State will be aware of the program by no later than the end 
of the 6th year of program implementation;
(2)  That a diversion from disposal rate of at least 50% will be achieved by the 
program by no later than the end of the 4th year of program implementation; or
(3)  An alternative performance goal that does not meet the criteria in subparagraph 
(1) or (2) as long as sufficient evidence is provided to the department to justify that 
alternative performance goal;  
K.  A description of how the program will be financed.  If the program is financed by 
a per unit assessment paid by the consumer at the point of sale, a plan for an annual 
3rd-party audit to ensure revenue from the assessment does not exceed the costs of 
implementing the program must be included;
L.  An anticipated annual budget for the program that includes identification of specific 
anticipated administrative, collection, transportation, disposition and communication 
costs for the program.  The anticipated annual budget must be sufficient to fund the 
program staffing required under subsection 2, paragraph D and the reimbursement by 
the producer or stewardship organization of the department's actual costs incurred in 
annual report review and in overseeing, administering and enforcing the program.  The 
anticipated annual budget may not include costs for legal fees or costs related to 
legislative efforts that have been or will be incurred by the producer or stewardship 
organization; and
M.  Any other information required by the department.
7.  Department review and approval.  Within 120 days after receipt of a proposed 
stewardship plan, or a proposed amendment to a previously approved stewardship plan, the 
department shall determine whether the stewardship plan complies with this section.  If the 
stewardship plan is approved, the department shall notify the person that submitted the plan 
in writing.  If the department rejects the stewardship plan, the department shall notify the 
person that submitted the plan in writing stating the reason for rejecting the stewardship 
plan.
8.  Stewardship plan availability.  Within 30 days of approval by the department of 
a stewardship plan submitted pursuant to subsection 7, or approval of an amendment to a 
previously approved stewardship plan submitted pursuant to subsection 9, the department 
shall place the approved stewardship plan on the department's publicly accessible website.
9.  Stewardship plan amendments.  In accordance with the provisions of this 
subsection, a producer or stewardship organization or the department may initiate changes 
to an approved electronic smoking device stewardship plan.
A.  A change to an approved stewardship plan by a producer or stewardship 
organization operating the program implemented under the stewardship plan must be 
submitted to the department for review and approval prior to the implementation of 
that change, except that if the producer or stewardship organization determines that the 
change is not substantive, such as the addition of or a change to collection locations, or 
if an additional producer joins the program, the producer or stewardship organization 
must inform the department of the change within 14 days of implementing the change 
but need not receive department approval unless the department determines that the 
change is substantive.  The department shall review and approve stewardship plan 
amendments in accordance with subsection 7.
B.  If the department determines that a program has failed to make adequate progress 
toward achieving the program's performance goals described in the approved 
stewardship plan pursuant to subsection 6, paragraph J, the department shall notify the 
producer or stewardship organization operating the program in writing regarding its 
determination and may direct the producer or stewardship organization to implement 
specific changes to the stewardship plan within 6 months of the written notification, 
which may include, but are not limited to, improvements to the convenience of the 
collection system or to the education and outreach efforts under the program to improve 
program performance.  The department may also recommend in its annual report under 
section 1772, subsection 1 that the program be amended to require financial incentives 
or, if appropriate, implementation of a deposit and refund system.
10.  Annual report.  By March 1st of the calendar year after the calendar year in which 
an approved stewardship plan is implemented, and annually thereafter, the producer or 
stewardship organization operating the program shall submit to the department a report on 
the program for the previous calendar year.  The report must include:
A.  The amount of unwanted electronic smoking devices collected at each collection 
location;
B.  A description of the methods used to collect, transport and process the electronic 
smoking devices;
C.  An evaluation of program performance, including, if possible, diversion and 
recycling rates together with certificates of recycling or similar confirmations and an 
evaluation of the convenience of the collection system implemented under the 
program;
D.  A description of the methods used for education and outreach efforts and an 
evaluation of the effectiveness of those efforts.  The report must include the results of 
an assessment of the methods used for and effectiveness of education and outreach 
efforts.  The assessment must be completed by a qualified 3rd party;
E.  If applicable, the report of the 3rd-party audit conducted to ensure that revenue 
collected from the assessment does not exceed implementation costs pursuant to 
subsection 6, paragraph K;
F.  Any recommendations for changes to the program and to the approved goals for the 
program to improve convenience of collection, consumer education and program 
evaluation;
G.  A financial report on the program, including the total cost of implementing the 
program as determined by a 3rd-party audit that includes identification of specific 
administrative, collection, transportation, disposition and communication costs for the 
program, and an anticipated budget for the program for the next program year; and
H.  Any other information required by the department.
The department shall include the information reported by a producer or stewardship 
organization pursuant to this subsection in the department's annual report under section 
1772, subsection 1.
11.  Proprietary information.  Proprietary information submitted to the department 
in a stewardship plan, in an amendment to a stewardship plan or pursuant to reporting 
requirements of this section that is identified by the submittor as proprietary information is 
confidential and must be handled by the department in the same manner as confidential 
information is handled under section 1310‑B.
12.  Administration and enforcement; rules.  The department shall enforce this 
section and may adopt rules as necessary for the purposes of implementing, administering 
and enforcing this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that, on or before November 1, 2026, a producer of electronic 
smoking devices, individually, collectively or through a stewardship organization, must 
submit to the Department of Environmental Protection for review and approval a plan for 
the establishment of a stewardship program to manage unwanted electronic smoking 
devices sold by the producer at the end of the device's life.  One hundred eighty days after 
a stewardship plan is approved by the department, a producer of electronic smoking devices 
may not sell or offer for sale in the State an electronic smoking device unless the producer 
participates, individually, collectively or through a stewardship organization, in an 
approved electronic smoking device stewardship program.