What is Right to Repair?

U.S. PIRG Right To Repair Campaign Director Nathan Proctor explains the campaign. By giving every consumer and small business access to the parts, tools and service information they need to repair products from cell phones to tractors, we can keep products in use longer and reduce unnecessary waste.

Right to repair

Video & Multimedia

April 6, 2018

Right to Repair Webinar Still — staff | TPIN

You buy stuff. It breaks or doesn’t work right. You could throw it away and buy new stuff, but you’d rather repair it. But then you find out you can’t do it yourself, you can’t even bring it to a third party repair shop. You have to bring it back to the original company, which can charge an arm and a leg because there’s no competition—and sometimes they just won’t fix it. And you decide to throw the thing away.

It means more cost to consumers, and also means more waste. Americans dispose of 416,000 cell phones per day, and only 15 to 20 percent of electronic waste is recycled.

We imagine a different kind of system, where instead of throwing things out, we reuse, salvage and rebuild. But that means taking on the big companies who would push us into buying more and throwing more away. The goal of our Right to Repair campaign is to give every consumer and small business access to the parts, tools and service information they need to repair products so we can keep things in use and reduce waste.

So far in 2023, 28 states have introduced legislation.

AK – SB 112 – covers everything but cars.
CA – SB 244 – covers consumer devices and has passed its first committee, and SB 271 which covers powered wheelchairs.
CO – HB1011 – overs farm equipment and has been signed into law.
CT – HB 5755 / HB 6083 – which cover powered wheelchairs, and of which 6083 has pass its first committee, and H.B. 6512 which covers consumer electronics.
DE – HB41 – covers everything except cars, has cleared committee.
FL – HB 533 / SB 422 – which cover farm equipment, of which the Senate bill passed through committee.
GA – SB 243 – covers all products.
HI – HB53 / HB 1287 – cover all products except cars, SB 1172 – covers medical devices; SB 1105 and HB 645 – covers all products except heavy equipment and medical devices $100,000.
IA – HF 587 – covers all products.
IL – HB 3602 – covers powered wheelchairs, HB 3593 – covers all products except medical devices and cars, and HB 3601 – covers laptops and tablets used by school districts.
MA – H 360 / S 142 – covers mobile devices.
ME – SB 1487 – covers everything but cars.
MD – HB 712 – covers farm equipment, was withdrawn. HB 1193 – requires access to repair data from cars.
MO – SB 554 / HB 217 – cover everything but cars of which the Senate bill passed committee, HB 698 – covers farm equipment.
MN – HF 1337 – covers everything but cars and medical devices, SF 1598 overs everything but cars, medical devices ag and heavy equipment. Both cleared all relevant committees.
MT – HB 475 / SB 347 – cover farm equipment, HB 195 – covers powered wheelchairs.
NC – H752 – covers medical devices.
NH – HB73 – covers home appliances.
NJ – AB 1538 – covers everything but cars, AB 3612 – covers farm equipment and lawn mowers.
OH – SB 273 – covers everything except cars, farm and forestry equipment and medical equipment.
OK – SB869 – covers consumer devices.
OR – SB542 – covers personal electronics / consumer devices, and has passed relevant committee.
SD – SB 194 covers all but medical, excluded cars.
TN – SB0077 – covers powered wheelchairs.
TX – HB 515 / SB 1654 cover farm and heavy equipment, HB 1606 – covers everything but cars.
WA – SB5464 / HB1392 – cover laptops, tablets and cell phones. Passed House.
WV – HB 3384 . SB 738 – cover farm equipment, passed the Senate.
VT – H. 81 – covers farm equipment and has passed its first committee, and H. 79 / S. 46 – covers all equipment but cars and medical devices.