An amended majority version of LD 1911 will now replace LD 1677, currently state law if the Senate votes in the affirmative. The Senate tabled the bill Wednesday.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators) drafted LD 1911 shortly after LD 1677 as a competing bill. LD 1677 was passed in November when more than 84% of voters approved a right to repair (R2R) referendum that began as a petition circulated by the Maine Right to Repair Coalition.

“There has been a lot of discussion both in this building and in the world in general about our data about access to it, use of it, and ways to obtain it,” said Rep. Tiffany Roberts (D-District 149) before the House vote. “This is what the decision before us tonight is truly centered on. It is essential to understand how that data will be used by interested parties to ensure consumers have a legal right to access their data and limit the number of people to whom data is exposed or distributed.

“…the voters made it clear that they want the right to have the repairer of their choice [and] have access to the data necessary to repair their car. We have worked to craft a policy that can achieve that goal and still be implemented.”

Roberts serves as co-chair of Maine’s Joint Standing Committee on Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business (IDEA Committee), which worked to amend LD 1911 and bring it to the House for consideration. The committee voted 7-1 in February to recommend that the legislature eliminate the requirement for a standardized repair information platform in the new law.

While addressing the House Tuesday, Roberts added that both the majority and minority reports on LD 1911 aim to fix the referendum question.

“However, only the majority report will ensure the right to repair without added cybersecurity risk litigation for the state and a risk to Maine drivers of losing vehicle features,” she said. “The majority report creates a private right of action and an attorney general enforcement mechanism to ensure that a consumer’s repairer of choice has access to any information necessary to complete a repair including telematics.”

Roberts added that if the majority report isn’t passed, Maine legislators can expect to face a similar situation to Massachusetts’ similar legislation, the passed by referendum in 2020. It’s the basis of an ongoing lawsuit filed against the state AG by Auto Innovators.

Roberts cautioned that the minority report reportedly further expands data access for tool manufacturers, past what the ballot law allows. It also mandates free on-demand access to vehicle data and telematics for tool manufacturers and independent facilities who request it, regardless of whether it is needed for a repair, she said.

“This complex issue crosses into federal vehicle regulations, major cyber cybersecurity implications, [and] privacy and consumer protection,” Roberts said. “The IDEA Committee weighed these complex matters, consistently focusing on providing the right to repair, and crafting the majority report with a 12-1 strong bipartisan report.”

Rep. Daniel Sayre (D-District 135), who is a member of the IDEA Committee, voiced his support for the minority report.

“While it was 12-1 in the committee, the vote among the people of Maine was a resounding 341,000 to 60,000 in favor of the right to repair including telematics,” he said Tuesday. “The changes made in the majority report take out too much of the bill and reduce the effects of right to repair to a shadow of what the people voted for. It simply does not respect the will of the people.”

Sayre added that 42% of Maine households are below the poverty line or earn a limited income and can’t afford to pay more for automotive repair. He argued that repairs will cost more if Mainers don’t get to choose where they take their vehicle for repairs.

The majority report, he contends, removes the requirement for a standardized telematics platform and independent oversight entity without any alternatives.

“I am not comfortable with that because it leaves us with right to repair in name only where the only recourse that a repair shop has is to sue an auto manufacturer if they feel they’ve been done wrong,” Sayre said. “I think that puts small Maine businesses and Maine consumers in a very difficult position relative to the giant corporations that make our cars.”

Instead, he said the minority report lays out a set of right to repair rules, including telematics, to replace the proposed standardized platform and ensure “a level playing field between dealerships, in-network repair shops, and independent repair shops.” The minority report also creates a working group to oversee the formulation of rules as right to repair is implemented, he said, with the group replacing the independent entity and sitting “squarely with government oversight.”

The group would include three auto manufacturer and dealership representatives, three independent shop and tool manufacturer representatives, a consumer privacy advocate, and representation from the Maine Attorney General’s office and the Secretary of State’s Office.

Rep. Bruce White (D-District 65), sponsor of LD 1911, noted that the similar Massachusetts bill while still being tied up in court could happen in Maine as well without the passage of his bill.

“If we don’t pass this, nobody will win,” he said. “The consumers will be without anything… I’d also like to note that not a single repair has been identified that telematics are needed for; not one that we are aware of. In the majority report, it also states that a repairer would have access to all information necessary to complete a repair including telematics data when and if needed.”

Auto Innovators Vice President State Affairs Wayne Weikel urged the Senate to pass the legislation quickly following what he called a positive development made by the Maine House.

“Automotive right to repair already exists in Maine,” he told Repairer Driven News Wednesday. “Mainers can get their car repaired anytime, anywhere and anyplace. The House preserved the most important provisions of the referendum — guaranteeing that independent auto repairers in Maine have access to all the information and tools necessary to repair a vehicle — while preventing government control of customer vehicle data that posed a real privacy and cybersecurity threat.”

Images

Featured image: Maine State Capitol Building in Augusta, Maine (Credit: pabradyphoto/iStock)