Release: Minnesota’s governor approves nation’s broadest Right to Repair law

Gov. Walz signs legislation including language guaranteeing access to materials needed to fix consumer electronics, home appliances and more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed the most comprehensive state Right to Repair law in the country Wednesday. This landmark legislation requires manufacturers to make spare parts, tools and repair information available to consumers and independent repair shops. State lawmakers added Right to Repair to an omnibus bill (SF 2774) after gaining strong support in both chambers. They finalized that measure on May 17, then sent it to the governor.

The new Minnesota law covers all electronics except farm and construction equipment, video game consoles, specialized cybersecurity tools, motor vehicles and medical devices. Minnesota is the first state to extend the Right to Repair to home appliances and a range of commercial and business products, including commercial, educational and business computing, which were exempted from legislation in New York. The new law will go into effect on July 1, 2024.

“This is the biggest Right to Repair win to date. Minnesotans know that when things break, you fix them. And when manufacturers refuse to let us access what we need for the repair, you fix the law to make them cooperate,” said Nathan Proctor, senior director for U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign. “Repairs cut waste and save consumers money. It’s common-sense, and it is becoming increasingly clear that manufacturers’ attempts to thwart repair will no longer be tolerated. Minnesota won’t be the last state to codify that.” 

Minnesota state Rep. Peter Fischer and state Sen. Rob Kupec were the primary legislative champions of the Right to Repair, with support from a broad coalition of local repair and refurbishing companies, environmental advocates, nonprofits that provide computers to schools and municipal governments that struggle to deal with electronic waste. 

“With the passage of this law, Minnesotans will have more local repair businesses that support communities and feed families. Equipment owners will have new options to keep their technology running and out of the landfill,” commented Gay Gordon-Byrne, the executive director of Repair.org. “Bravo and congratulations. The world is watching.”

While Minnesota’s final Right to Repair legislation is wider-ranging than in any other state, the parameters of the bill narrowed through the process. Lawmakers removed farm and other outdoor power equipment from the bill despite strong support from the Minnesota Farmers Union. Manufacturers made a late push to weaken the legislation. While some concessions were made around specific cybersecurity tools, advocates successfully warded off the worst of the suggested changes to ensure that businesses have independent repair options for enterprise servers and routers.

“The repair revolution hit Minnesota today! Now independent repair shops can compete, and everyone who wants can fix things themselves,” said Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit. “With online documentation, people everywhere in the world—not just in Minnesota—will benefit from this. Manufacturers, get ready. Everyone else, get fixing.”

Minnesota becomes the fourth state to enact a Right to Repair law, and only the second to pass a bill covering multiple industries. Colorado has enacted legislation covering powered wheelchairs and farm equipment, while Massachusetts has passed multiple measures concerning automobiles. New York passed a somewhat-broad electronics bill last year, and Minnesota has improved upon that breakthrough bill, removing loopholes and expanding the range of equipment covered. 

“I want to thank Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and our terrific sponsors Rep. Peter Fischer and Sen. Rob Kupec. It takes courage to stand up to the well-funded array of industry opposition to Right to Repair. We were lucky to have such brave and effective leaders to move us forward,” added Proctor. “I’m so grateful for the local repair shops, the Reuse Minnesota network, local enterprise repair companies, environmental advocates, tinkers and DIYers who kept raising their voices until we got something done. Right to Repair continues to improve and expand and we have no plans to stop until everyone can fix their stuff.” 

More analysis is available on our blog.