At the last hour on the last day of July, the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passed the Right to Repair bill (H.B. 4362) after the car companies, new car dealers and the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition reached a last-minute agreement. 
While the bill still needs to be signed by the governor, the agreement reached after months of negotiations is a major victory for the industry and for car owners, say proponents of the bill.
Specifically, the agreement would:
• Mandate that car companies immediately make available to the independent vehicle repair industry the same tools, software and repair information that they make available to the franchised dealers.
• Require that, beginning in model year 2018, car companies maintain all of their software and service information in an electronic database that is available to consumers and independent service facilities on a subscription basis. Further, car companies would need to provide access to their diagnostic and repair software through a standardized interface that will mean reduced capital costs for independent repairers and that they will access to the most up-to-date tools that are now often only available to franchised dealer technicians.
• Prohibit the car companies from avoiding the bill’s service information requirements should they attempt to provide vehicle diagnostic information to their dealers through telematics systems.
• Subject car companies to treble damages for non-compliance under the state’s 93A consumer protection statute
Roy Littlefield, TIA executive vice president, said, “The passage of the Right to Repair bill is critical to maintaining the safety of the motoring public in providing the much needed access to technical data in an era of high-tech cars. We hope the passage of this bill will be the impetus for the U.S. Congress to pass a similar bill.”
“The passage of ‘Right to Repair’ legislation in Massachusetts is a very positive development and signals a new era of cooperation and collaboration between vehicle manufacturers, dealers and the independent automotive aftermarket,” said Steve Handschuh, president and COO of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association. “The dealers and the aftermarket will continue to have access to diagnostic and repair information needed to maintain the vehicle fleet and most importantly, preserve freedom of choice for vehicle owners. AASA and its supplier members have supported this initiative and applaud the efforts of all of those involved in making it happen.”
Now that the bill has passed the legislature, Gov. Deval Patrick has 10 days to sign the bill. Gov. Patrick has promised to sign the bill, according to the Coalition. Following his signature, the Coalition says it will work with the car companies and dealers to educate voters on the agreement and the fact that the bill will no longer need to be passed as a ballot measure. The Coalition says it also is committed to work on a national bill modeled after the Massachusetts bill, but one that would also work to address important issues such as telematics and technician training.
At the same time, the ballot measure mandating Right to Repair remains on the Massachusetts ballot for this November, and could still pass into law. Representatives of the Coalition and other groups involved in getting H.B. 4362 passed have said they will “work together to educate public on the compromise bill and that the ballot question is no longer necessary.”
