A Pennsylvania House committee voted Monday to advance legislation to modernize and strengthen Pennsylvania’s Covered Device Recycling Act and address longstanding electronic waste, or e-waste, challenges in the state.

The House Environmental & Natural Resource Protection Committee passed House Bill 2553, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Borowski, D-Delaware, updating the CDRA by expanding the devices covered, improving access to recycling options and strengthening protections for sensitive data when electronics are discarded. It also requires the state Department of Environmental Protection to maintain an online portal with real-time updates on approved recycling facilities.

“Pennsylvania has an opportunity to lead by modernizing the CDRA to reflect today’s electronics landscape and the growing volume of devices entering our waste stream. This legislation expands access to convenient, responsible recycling across the Commonwealth, ensuring more residents and small businesses alike have practical options to manage end of life electronics safely and efficiently,” Borowski said. “This bill modernizes Pennsylvania’s e-waste law by expanding coverage to the devices people use today.”

Borowski added that the legislation has support from the Senate, as she worked with Sen. Carolyn Comitta, D-Chester, and Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Chester, on the legislation.

Rep. Jack Rader, R-Monroe, the minority chair of the committee, said that although he is in favor of e-waste recycling, he does not believe that HB 2553 in its current state is the best way to go about updating the CDRA.

“Initially, I was excited about [HB 2553], but after reading the bill, I’m a little concerned about the tax. I know especially in today’s world, the companies aren’t going to pay for the taxes, the consumers do, and I’m a little concerned about raising prices in this economic time,” Rader said. “I just want to make it clear, I am for this, but I am not for how the bill creates a system to take care of it … I don’t want to move a bill forward that I don’t think is ready to be voted on yet.”

Rader also said he is concerned the bill’s market-share calculations lack transparency and could ultimately increase consumer costs if manufacturers pass compliance expenses along to customers. He also raised concerns about the DEP’s use of confidential sales data in calculating obligations, saying it limits transparency and public understanding of how the formula is applied.

The bill does not impose new taxes or fees on consumers, but requires electronics manufacturers to fund registration and recycling programs through a tiered fee system based on the weight of covered devices sold annually in Pennsylvania. Companies with higher reported sales weights pay higher fees, while smaller manufacturers pay reduced amounts under lower tiers.

Manufacturers would pay $10,000 for 100,000 pounds or more in annual sales weight, $5,000 for less than 100,000 pounds and 10,000 pounds or more and $1,000 for less than 10,000 pounds. While costs could be indirectly passed on, the HB 2553 does not directly increase costs for Pennsylvanians, according to the bill’s language.

Other Republican representatives said they agreed with Rader’s concerns, saying HB 2553 needs further amendment before advancing to the House floor. The Democrats, meanwhile, said they were eager to move the legislation forward and could make additional refinements after it clears the committee.

The committee voted 15-11 in favor of HB 2553, with Democrats unanimously in support joined by Rep. Thomas Mehaffie, R-Dauphin, while all other Republicans voted against the measure.

The bill will now move to the full House for further consideration.