CALPIRG organizes Right to Repair lobby day

On Wednesday May 3rd, advocacy groups, businesses and members of the public from across California spoke to 14 State Senate offices in support of the Right to Repair Act (SB 244, Eggman).  If passed, the CALPIRG-backed bill would make electronics and appliances easier to fix.

Right now, the manufacturers can restrict access to the tools and equipment necessary for basic repairs. This often results in higher costs for consumers and increased levels of electronic waste entering the environment. The Right to Repair Act would make the parts and tools needed to fix everything from our phones to our refrigerators available to independent repair businesses and individual consumers.

Meeting attendees included representatives from CALPIRG, Californians Against Waste, iFixit, Consumer Reports, Recycle2Riches, FixitClinic, Media Alliance and others. Ten owners of independent repair businesses across the state also joined in on the lobbying efforts.

Earlier on the same morning, the LA Times editorialized in support of the Right to Repair Act in a piece called “The new anti-trash mantra should be reduce, recycle — and repair.”

The fate of the Right to Repair Act will be decided by the Senate Appropriations committee in mid May.