New York Senate Passes Electronics Right-to-Repair Legislation

[Nevilledog]

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JP Schnapper-Casteras
@jpscasteras
"The New York State Senate has overwhelmingly voted to pass electronics right-to-repair legislation, becoming the first legislative body in [America] to do so." https://vice.com/en/article/93y3np/new-york-senate-passes-electronics-right-to-repair-legislation… HT @katecrawford

New York Senate Passes Electronics Right-to-Repair Legislation
The legislation still has to pass the Assembly, but the Senate became the first legislative body in the US to pass a bill that would make it easier to fix your things.
vice.com
1:45 PM · Jun 10, 2021

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93y3np/new-york-senate-passes-electronics-right-to-repair-legislation

The New York State Senate has overwhelmingly voted to pass electronics right-to-repair legislation, becoming the first legislative body in the country to do so. It is a major step forward for a movement that has overwhelming public support and has been working toward getting a law done for the last several years.

“It protects consumers from the monopolistic practices of manufacturers,” Senator Phil Boyle said on the floor. “We all have computers, laptops, and smartphones that we repair once in a while. Many times we have to send them back to the manufacturer for simple repairs that cost a lot more. Now people can repair their own computers, laptops, and smartphones, and farm equipment. We don’t have to send them back to the manufacturers.”

The Senate passed the bill with 51 Senators voting for and only 12 voting against. The bill still has to pass the Assembly on an extremely tight deadline—New York's legislative session ends Thursday. If enacted, New York’s Digital Fair Repair Act would be the first of its kind in the United States. One of its strengths is its simplicity. According to the text, it “requires OEMs to make available, for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair, to any independent repair provider, or to the owner of digital electronic equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, or sold by, the OEM, on fair and reasonable terms, documentation, parts, and tools, inclusive of any updates to information or embedded software.”

To become a law the bill still needs to pass in New York’s Assembly and get signed by the Governor. The Assembly version is currently stalled, but lobbyists working to get it passed are hopeful.

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[dalton99a]

1. There should be similar legislation for automotive repairs