NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7006B
SPONSOR: Fahy TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale of
digital electronic equipment and providing diagnostic and repair infor-
mation
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill requires original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to make diag-
nostic and repair information for digital electronic parts and equipment
available to independent repair providers and consumers if such parts
and repair information are also available to OEM authorized repair
providers.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Titled "Digital Fair Repair Act"
Section 2. Adds a new § 399-nn of the General Business Law.
1. Definitions
2. Requires OEMs to make available, for purposes of diagnosis, mainte-
nance, or repair, to any independent repair provider, or to the owner of
digital electronic equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, or sold
by, the OEM, on fair and reasonable terms, documentation, parts, and
tools, inclusive of any updates to information. Nothing in this section
requires an OEM to make available a part if the part is no longer avail-
able to the OEM. For equipment that contains an electronic security lock
or other security-related function, the OEM shall make available to the
owner and to independent repair providers, on fair and reasonable
terms,, any special documentation, tools, and parts needed to access and
reset the lock or function when disabled in the course of diagnosis,
maintenance, or repair of the equipment. Such documentation, tools, and
parts may be made available through appropriate secure release systems.
3. Provides for limitations to the requirements. This section does not
require an OEM to divulge a trade secret to an owner or an independent
service provider; or alter the terms of any arrangement between =n OEM
and authorized repair provider. It does not require on OEM or authorized
repair provider to, make available parts, tools, or documentation for
making modifications to digital electronic equipment. It also does not
require an OEM or authorized repair provider to make available parts,
tools, or documentation for certain public safety communications equip-
ment used for emergency response or prevention.
* any digital electronic equipment whose diagnosis, maintenance, or
repair would be inconsistent with or in violation of federal law.
* diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of any home appliance with a digital
electronic product embedded within it.
4. Provides for specific exclusions from the provisions of the bill
including, but not limited to, the following products:
* motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment;
* medical devices; and
* off road equipment including, but not limited to, farm and utility,
forestry, industrial, construction, and mining equipment.
5. Provides that no original equipment manufacturer or authorized repair
provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to digital
electronic equipment by an independent repair provider or owner which
occurs during the course of repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modifica-
tion, including but not limited to indirect, incidental, special or
consequential damages; any loss of data, privacy or profits; or any,
inability to use, or reduced functionality of, the digital electronic
equipment.
6. Provides for enforcement by the Attorney General.
Section 3. Effective date. This act shall take effect one year after it
shall have become a law.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:
This version makes technical clarifications to the bill, including
providing that the requirements will apply to products with a value over
ten dollars, adjusted annually based on the consumer price index. Anoth-
er adds that nothing in the section will require that an OEM or author-
ized repair provider make available any parts, tools or documentation if
the intended use is for making modifications to digital electronic
equipment. Others provide that nothing in the section will require an
OEM or authorized repair provider to make available parts, tools or
documentation for 1) public safety communications equipment used for
emergency response or prevention purposes by an emergency service organ-
ization, 2) where it may be in violation of federal law such as with
gaming and entertainment consoles, related software, and components, or
3) home appliances with digital electronics embedded within them.
Manufacturers, distributors, importers, or dealers of off-road equipment
are added to the exclusions, those to whom the requirements would not
apply. Amendments also include extending the effective date of the bill
from 120 days to one year after it shall have become a law.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill will protect consumers from the monopolistic practices of
digital electronics manufacturers. This legislation will require
manufacturers to make non-trade secret diagnostic and repair information
available for sale third party repairers. Nothing prevents third party
repairers from being technically competent to complete digital repairs
other than the lack of information being withheld by manufacturers.
In too many instances,, repairs of digital items are intentionally
limited by the manufacturer. Manufacturers will require consumers to pay
for repair services exclusively through their repair division or manu-
facturer-authorized repair providers. The practices by manufacturers
essentially create a monopoly on these repair services. These limited
authorized channels result in inflated, high repair prices, poor service
or non-existent service in rural areas and unnecessarily high turnover
rates for electronic products. Another concern is the significant amount
of electronic waste created by the inability to affordably repair broken
electronics. Lack of competition in the digital repair industry creates
high costs for consumers, businesses, and government operations, limits
used equipment markets and results in the early retirement of equipment
with a remaining useful life. This bill will open the digital repair
market up to competition and all its consumer, entrepreneurial and envi-
ronmental benefits.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A7416-A of 2019-20 (Lupardo)
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
This legislation will have no fiscal implications for the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it becomes law.
