An updated version of The Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act is gaining support in the House of Representatives. Ten representatives have signed on as co-sponsors since the new bill, H.R. 2694, was introduced last month.
If passed into law, H.R. 2694 would require that auto manufacturers share with independent repair shops the same diagnostic and repair information and tools given to their franchised dealers.
New co-sponsors include Reps. Robert Brady (D-PA), Corrine Brown (D-FL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Danny Davis (D-IL), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Bob Etheridge (D-NC), Barbara Lee (D-CA), George Miller (D-CA) and James Moran (D-VA).
The July issue of Modern Tire Dealer contains an in-depth feature story about right to repair legislation at the federal and state levels, plus a first-hand account of how independent tire dealers lobbied their senators and state representatives on behalf of right to repair legislation during last month's 2007 Automotive Aftermarket Legislative Summit.
In May 2006, an earlier version of the Right to Repair Act, H.R. 2048, passed through the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, but stalled later in the year.
