The Maine Right to Repair Working Group unanimously approved its report to the legislature Thursday that details its recommendations for the responsibilities of a future commission, as enacted under new right to repair legislation in the state.

Hawaii and Kansas legislators have also filed automotive “right to repair” bills.

The Hawaii bill would require automakers to equip motor vehicles, including heavy-duty, that use a telematics system with “an interoperable, standardized, and open-access platform across all of the manufacturer’s makes and models,” beginning with model year 2022.

“The platform shall be capable of securely communicating all mechanical data emanating directly from the motor vehicle via direct data connection to the platform,” the bill states. “The platform shall be directly accessible by the owner of the vehicle through a mobile-based application and upon the authorization of the vehicle owner, all mechanical data shall be directly accessible by an independent repair facility, limited to the time to complete the repair or for a period of time agreed to by the vehicle owner for the purposes of maintaining, diagnosing, and repairing the motor vehicle. Access shall include the ability to send commands to in-vehicle components if needed for purposes of maintenance, diagnostics, and repair.”

Auto Innovators and Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association (HADA) submitted testimony opposing the bill. O’Reilly Auto Parts, Auto Care Association, the owner of automotive repair shop 808 Safety, Coalition for Automotive Repair Equality (CARE), and Coalition for Automotive Repair Equality wrote in support of the bill.

LKQ wrote that it supports the bill with reservations. The company’s letter doesn’t state what those reservations are.

All written testimony and video of a House committee hearing on the bill can be viewed here. A companion bill was also filed in the Senate. It has been referred to the Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary Committees.

The Kansas bill would require mechanical data and motor vehicle on-board diagnostic systems of all 2002-2018 model year motor vehicles to be standardized and accessible to vehicle owners and independent repair facilities through a non-proprietary interface, such as ethernet, universal serial bus, or digital versatile disc.

The bill would also require OEMs to provide diagnostic repair information to aftermarket motor vehicle scan tool companies and third-party service information providers that it’s licensing, contracted with, or has confidentiality agreements with “for purposes of building aftermarket diagnostic tools and third-party service information publications and systems.”

“Such access to mechanical data and motor vehicle on-board diagnostic systems shall not require authorization by a manufacturer, directly or indirectly, unless such authorization is standardized across all makes and models of motor vehicles sold in Kansas and is administered by the board established in section 4, and amendments thereto.”

The Motor Vehicle Repairs Board, established by the bill if it’s approved, would be under the jurisdiction of the state’s attorney general. It’s similar to the proposed commission in Maine.

Among the board’s list of responsibilities, it “shall be responsible for managing the secure access to mechanical data, including ensuring on an ongoing basis that access to motor vehicle on-board diagnostic systems and the standardized access platform that is described in section, and amendments thereto, is securely stored based on all applicable federal and international data storage standards,” the bill states.

The board would include: one member to represent manufacturers; one member to represent aftermarket motor vehicle parts manufacturers; one member to represent aftermarket motor vehicle parts distributors or retailers; one member to represent independent repair facilities; and one member to represent motor vehicle dealers. The attorney general would appoint all board members and the chairperson. The bill states a manufacturer member can’t be the chair.

So far, the bill has been referred to the Committee on Transportation.

In Maine, a working group formed as part of a new R2R law has carved out its final report to the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development on a future commission that will handle vehicle data sharing in the state.

In November 2023 more than 84% of voters approved a referendum that began as a petition circulated by the Maine Right to Repair Coalition. It requires OEMs to standardize onboard diagnostics and provide remote access to those systems.

The Data Law and “right to repair” have been under debate by the Maine Right to Repair Working Group since August. Its responsibility is to propose amendments that should be made to the Data Law and make recommendations to the legislature on what the independent entity should do.

The group recommends that the statute be amended to make clear that the entity, or commission, will not maintain, provide access to, or otherwise control vehicle data. The group also came to the consensus that “some commands sent to vehicles for maintenance, diagnosis, and repairs when physically present at a vehicle could pose safety risks when sent to the vehicle remotely.”

Proposed amended statutory language addressing the recommendation and several other recommendations are attached to the group’s report as Exhibit B.

The report states that the entity should be an independent agency rather than a state agency.  

“There was also unanimous consensus that at least initially, the entity should serve a purely advisory role and have no rulemaking or enforcement authority,” the report states.

“In this advisory role, the entity would have four major responsibilities:

1. 1. “Monitoring and assessing implementation of the right to repair law, including manufacturers’ compliance with the law’s requirements;
   2. “Attempting to informally resolve any complaints from owners and independent repair facilities alleging a manufacturer’s non-compliance with the law, and, if a complaint cannot be resolved, considering whether to refer the matter to the Attorney General for enforcement action;
   3. “Designating one or more technical experts with whom the Attorney General may consult in assessing enforcement referrals and maintaining enforcement actions; and
   4. “Making an annual report to the legislative committee of jurisdiction, the Governor, and the Attorney General describing the entity’s activities during the preceding year, identifying any implementation or compliance issues that it encountered, and recommending any amendments to the statute, including amendments providing the entity with additional authority, or additional legislation, to address any implementation or compliance issues.”

The group also decided that the commission will assess for itself “its need for authority to develop specific standards for compliance as part of its report addressing compliance issues.”

“One basis for the working group’s recommendation that the commission be advisory is the working group’s consensus that, at least initially, motor vehicle manufacturers should decide for themselves the manner in which they will provide access to all mechanical data emanating directly from the vehicle in compliance with the statute,” the report states.

The recommendations include a breakdown of who the members that will serve on the entity will represent. Those are:

• • “Three members representing motor vehicle manufacturers, at least one of whom represents an organization of motor vehicle manufacturers, and at least one of whom represents a heavy duty vehicle manufacturer;
  • “One member representing aftermarket parts manufacturers;
  • “One member representing diagnostic tool manufacturers;
  • “One member representing aftermarket parts distributors and retailers;
  • “Three members representing Maine independent repair facilities, at least one of whom is an owner or operator of an independent repair facility specializing in automobiles, and at least one of whom is an owner or operator of an independent repair facility specializing in heavy duty vehicles;
  • “One member representing Maine new motor vehicle dealers;
  • “One member with expertise in automotive cyber-security matters; and
  • “One member representing the public who is a resident of Maine.”

The member representing the public should serve as the commission’s chair, according to the recommendations.

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