from the fix-your-own-stuff dept

Thu, Jun 1st 2023 03:31pm –
Karl Bode

Reform efforts aimed at making it easier and more affordable to repair technology you bought and paid for continue to see progress. California’s SB 244 this week passed in the California State Senate with a vote of 38-0, a notable retort to the lobbyists that had been trying to kill the bill:

The bill still needs to pass the State Assembly, but activists tell me they feel good about their chances given this unanimous vote.

SB 244 (Right to Repair Act) requires that every manufacturer of consumer technology products make repair documentation, parts, and tools available to consumer and independent repair shops on “fair and reasonable terms.” The goal: lower consumer costs and annoyance, and reduce environmental waste.

Nathan Proctor, Director of PIRG’s right to repair campaign, says lobbyists had been working hard to kill the bill, to no avail:

“Manufacturers thought they could distrac