By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul authored a letter to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee calling on them to pass key right to repair bills, including the SEMA-supported “Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act,” H.R. 906. The letter was signed by Attorneys General representing 26 other states, noting that “Manufacturing of automobiles, digital devices and agricultural equipment is increasingly becoming more technologically advanced and built with more embedded electronics. OEMs often control access to these electronics parts, creating unfair restraint of trade and a monopoly on repair. This can harm consumers directly by driving up prices and is antithetical to a free market.”
Congressional support for the bipartisan REPAIR Act continues to expand with U.S. Representatives Ann Kuster (D-NH), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) recently signing on as cosponsors. The REPAIR Act seeks to protect consumers’ rights to decide where and with what parts to repair and maintain their vehicles and to do the work themselves or by an independent shop of their choice. The REPAIR Act ensures that vehicle owners and repair businesses have access to diagnostic data and telematics information, which is critical to maintaining a competitive repair market. Click here to send a letter to your U.S. Representative that asks them to support the REPAIR Act by cosponsoring the bill.
Below are key provisions of the REPAIR Act:
- Prohibits manufacturers from imposing technological or legal barriers that block aftermarket replacement part manufacturers from accessing critical information and tools necessary to develop interoperable products with emerging vehicle technology.
- Establishes the right for replacement part manufacturers and independent repair shops to access critical information, tools and equipment needed to maintain vehicles.
- Requires companies producing vehicles equipped with telematics to make any critical repair information and tools available to replacement part manufacturers and repair facilities at a fair and reasonable cost.
- Provides vehicle owners with data and information wirelessly generated by their vehicles.
- Establishes a right for vehicle owners to securely share their vehicle’s repair and maintenance data with their repairer of choice.
While the REPAIR Act is important to repair and replace businesses, we still have more work to do. The current legislation does not extend to a right to modify. SEMA is committed to protecting the right to modify vehicles by prohibiting automakers from locking down ECUs and ensuring aftermarket companies have access to the information needed to recalibrate vehicles with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) after they have been modified.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.