Two NSAC Co-Sponsored Bills Signed Into Law After Passing California Legislature With Strong Bipartisan Support

Gov. Gavin Newsom signs SB 501 and SB 936, advancing worker safety, public health, battery recycling, critical mineral recovery, and cost-effective circular economy policy 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2026) — Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two bills co-sponsored by the National Stewardship Action Council, capping a successful legislative session for measures aimed at protecting workers and communities, reducing costs, and two-nsac-co-sponsored-bills-signed-into-law-after-passing-california-legislature-with-strong-bipartiadvancing California’s circular economy. Newsom signed SB 936 by Sen. Catherine Blakespear on Sept. 18 and SB 501 by Sen. Ben Allen on Sept. 20. 

Both measures received strong bipartisan support in the Legislature. NSAC thanks Sens. Blakespear and Allen for their leadership, along with the bills’ co-authors, co-sponsors, and the broad coalitions of local governments, producers, haulers, recyclers, businesses, public health and safety officials, environmental organizations, and other interest holders who supported the legislation. 

“These laws show what the circular economy can deliver when we get the policy right,” said Heidi Sanborn, CEO of the National Stewardship Action Council. “We can stop battery fires, protect workers and communities, address a growing public health crisis, and recover critical minerals instead of throwing them away. We can also do it in a way that is fair, affordable, cost-effective, and workable. That’s what good circular economy policy should do: deliver public health, environmental, and economic benefits without simply shifting costs from one part of the system to another.” 

SB 501 expands California’s Responsible Battery Recycling Act to include medium-format batteries, including those used in e-bikes, outdoor power equipment, portable power systems, and similar products. These batteries had fallen outside the state’s existing stewardship programs, leaving local governments, haulers, and waste and recycling operators to manage growing safety risks and costs when they were improperly discarded. 

Damaged lithium-ion batteries can ignite in collection trucks, transfer stations, recycling facilities, and landfills, endangering workers, damaging equipment, and contributing to higher operating and insurance costs. SB 501 brings those batteries into an existing producer responsibility framework, creating a collection and management system while avoiding the cost and complexity of building an entirely separate program. 

The law also creates a better path for recovering critical minerals and other valuable materials contained in batteries, keeping those materials in productive use and strengthening domestic supply chains. 

“First, stop the fires,” Sanborn said. “Then make sure these batteries move into a system where the materials inside them can be recovered and used again. We should not be putting workers at risk, raising costs for communities, and throwing away critical minerals at the same time.” 

NSAC co-sponsored SB 501 with the Rural County Representatives of California and the Resource Recovery Coalition of California. 

“We thank Sen. Allen for recognizing that California could close this gap while building on the system already being developed,” Sanborn said. “That matters for effectiveness, affordability, and cost-effectiveness. The goal is not simply to create another program. It’s to solve the problem upstream in a way that works.” 

SB 936, authored by Sen. Catherine Blakespear, restricts the public sale of nitrous oxide canisters larger than 8 grams while preserving legitimate uses in the medical, dental, culinary, automotive, and other industries. Gov. Newsom signed the measure Sept. 18. 

Large nitrous oxide cylinders have increasingly appeared in California communities and publicly funded waste programs while recreational misuse has raised serious public health and safety concerns. 

“I thank the Governor for signing SB 936, which ensures nitrous oxide is only sold in large canisters for its intended purposes to prevent dangerous misuse and public safety risks,” Sen. Blakespear said. “Nitrous oxide is addictive and can be harmful, and that’s why it’s essential we restrict its sale.” 

NSAC co-sponsored SB 936 with the Rural County Representatives of California, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, and the County of Orange. The measure drew support from roughly 100 organizations. 

“What first got our attention was what these cylinders were doing to the waste system,” Sanborn said. “But what was showing up downstream was evidence of a much larger public health and safety problem. The answer was not to interfere with legitimate uses. It was to address the products most associated with misuse while reducing the costs and burden being pushed onto communities.” 

Both California bills co-sponsored by NSAC that reached the governor this session were signed into law. 

NSAC has built its work around bringing interest holders together early, working through disagreements, and making sure circular economy policy remains fair, cost-effective, practical to implement, and faithful to the public health, environmental, and economic benefits it was intended to deliver. 

“Over the past decade, NSAC has passed and implemented more circular economy policies than any other organization in the United States,” Sanborn said. “That experience matters because passing a bill is only part of the work. The policy also has to be fair, cost-effective, implementable, and capable of delivering the public health, environmental, and economic benefits it promises.” 

About the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC)  

The National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit advancing circular economy policies that protect people, strengthen markets, reduce costs, and keep valuable materials in productive use. NSAC brings together all levels of government, businesses, recyclers, nonprofit organizations, and other interest holders to develop, negotiate, pass, and implement practical, cost-effective policies and solutions that reduce waste, protect public health and worker safety, strengthen recycling systems, and keep valuable materials in productive use. NSAC has passed and implemented more producer responsibility policies than any other organization in the United States. Learn more at nsaction.us or follow us on LinkedIn.