BACKGROUND
Senate Bill 532/Ch 949, 2024 and House Bill 468/Ch 950, 2024 established the Commission to Advance Lithium-Ion Battery Safety in Maryland; and generally relating to the Commission to Advance Lithium-Ion Battery Safety in Maryland. The Commission was charged with studying and making legislative, regulatory, programmatic or other recommendations regarding the following:
Best practices, standards, and guidelines to prevent, detect and suppress lithium-ion battery fires in:
- Consumer and transportation applications.
- Utility applications, with review and consideration of National Fire Prevention 855 Standards for Grid Scale Storage and Safety
Best practices, standards, and guidelines to prevent, detect, and suppress lithium-ion fires at recycling facilities; and
Best practices, standards and guidelines for reusing, recycling, and decommissioning lithium-ion.
The viability of extended producer responsibility for lithium-ion batteries
Training, education, and other information to better inform the public and first responders regarding lithium-ion battery safety
Any other global issues the Commission may consider useful for enhancing the safety and reuse of batteries in the State
Objectives were set by the Legislature as follows:
On or before December 1, 2024, the Commission shall submit an interim report on the progress and status of the Commission to the Legislative Policy Committee in accordance with §2-1257 of the State Government Article.
On or before December 1, 2025, the Commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and, in accordance with §2-1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly.
The Commission Process and Progress can be summarized as follows:
In compliance with the authorizing law (Senate Bill 532/Ch. 949, 2024 and House Bill 468/Ch. 950, 2024), the Commission convened its first meeting in October 2024. The Commission’s process involved two primary phases: a fact-finding period in which members conducted research and received presentations from leading experts and a synthesis period focused on developing final recommendations and preparing the final Commission report. The Commission met regularly and held 19 meetings, heard from 17 experts across multiple topic areas, and conducted 4 site visits. The statutorily required interim report was submitted to the Legislative Policy Committee on December 1, 2024, and the Commission obtained a quorum and unanimously voted to approve the final report on November 25, 2025.
Please find below the following: Initial Commission Charter, Initial-Interim Report from (December 2024) and the Final Report (November 2025), meeting minutes, and meeting presentations.
