The latest Right to Repair law is the widest ever | Analysis

Do-it-yourselfers and repair shops are celebrating a victory in Minnesota, passing a fresh law that requires many manufacturers to make parts and information available to do-it-yourselfers and diminutive businesses.

The so-called right to repair will enable equipment owners and independent repairers to more easily repair devices such as phones, laptops, household appliances and other equipment.

Minnesota is the latest state to approve such a law, following Colorado earlier this year and New York last year. Massachusetts’ vehicle law was passed in 2020. DIYers, farmers, home improvement companies and diminutive repair shops say that without such laws, immense tech companies make it virtually impossible to obtain parts and manufacturer instructions.

However, manufacturers argue that widening access could pose a risk to potential repairers and equipment, as well as compromise the safety and security of equipment.

As the bills flow through the states, tech companies have managed to lobby to exempt certain types of equipment or allow other exceptions, such as allowing manufacturers to only supply complete assemblies of parts rather than single parts such as a chip, which manufacturers say that it is for safety or security reasons.

For example, Colorado law applies only to powered wheelchairs and agricultural equipment, while Massachusetts law applies to vehicles. Last December, New York passed a relatively comprehensive electronics bill.

Minnesota lawsigned into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz as part of the state budget, requires manufacturers of electronic devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and home appliances to provide parts, tools and instructions for repairing the equipment to independent repair shops and consumers.

But lawmakers removed farm equipment, video game consoles, specialized cybersecurity tools, medical devices and vehicles from the bill before it was approved.

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Despite these carve-outs, recovery advocates say Minnesota’s law is the most extensive yet. For example, the New York version excludes any “product sold pursuant to a specific business-to-government or business-to-business contract… that would not otherwise be offered for sale directly by a retailer.” This could apply to school computers.

New York’s measure only applies to products manufactured after July 1, 2023, which excludes most products currently in employ.

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