Oregon is now the fourth state in the country to enact a "right to repair" law to make it easier for consumers and independent shops to fix electronic gear. With Gov. Tina Kotek's signing of Senate Bill 1596 on Thursday, manufacturers will be required to offer any necessary documentation, parts, tools or any device needed to repair electronic equipment at a "fair cost" and on "reasonable" terms.
The bill takes effect in January. It was championed by state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, who first started pushing for the legislation in 2021. The minority of lawmakers who opposed the bill were Republican. The bill had wide support from small businesses and consumer advocates, including OSPIRG, a statewide public interest group. Only one major manufacturer opposed the bill – Apple. An Apple representative who testified against the bill said it would undermine the company's security efforts, a claim lawmakers questioned.
[...] Besides Oregon, Minnesota, New York and California have right to repair laws on technology. Massachusetts has approved a right to repair law on vehicles and Colorado has adopted one for wheelchairs and another for farmers.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Sunday March 31, @10:05PM (4 children)
Wonder what the value of their reasons were....
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 5, Insightful) by julian on Monday April 01, @12:42AM (1 child)
It's always disheartening to find out just how cheaply you can buy lawmakers. A $10,000 check from John Deere and suddenly Representative Smith is very concerned about the safety of farmers who clearly can't be trusted to repair their own computerized tractor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 01, @03:20AM
Stop complaining, and vote for more expensive politicians
(Score: 5, Interesting) by driverless on Monday April 01, @09:14AM (1 child)
Noticed that too, every single one of the states with right-to-repair laws passed or about to pass is pretty overwhelmingy Democrat. What do the Republicans have against right-to-repair?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Monday April 01, @11:15PM
You can't keep getting those bribes from Apple and John Deere, and you absolutely can't make money off independent business people fixing things for others; if you let Joe Business fix things for profit, you can't tax him or get him to bribe you for other things like lowering his taxes or..... wait... Tell me again how Republicans think?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Rich on Monday April 01, @01:08PM
Had a quick look at what it's about:
Good:
- laptops and phones are included
- parts pairing for devices sold in oregon from 2025 on is prohibited
Bad:
- cars, farm equipment, medical devices, and consoles are excluded
- only the attorney general can file against a vendor (and if he does...)
- maximum fine is $1000 per day (which is cheaper than the lobbyist's bill for a year)
Pretty weak, but the pairing thing is unique and novel. Maybe the entirety of a patchwork of eventually 51 states with different bills will make actual repairs feasible.