OLYMPIA, WA — Consumer Reports announced its support for the Fair Repair Act (ESHB1392), a digital right to repair bill introduced in the Washington state legislature. The bill would secure Washingtonians’ right to repair their own electronics, as well as their ability to choose to support independent local repair shops. The bill, sponsored by Representative Mia Gregerson, recently advanced out of the state House with bipartisan support. CR is urging the state Senate to advance the bill.
“This bill will save Washingtonians money and ensure they can choose the best repair shops in the marketplace. It will also help prevent unneeded waste of devices that can be fixed. That’s more crucial than ever before, in light of the continuing global chip shortage,” said Laurel Lehman, policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “With continued economic uncertainty, now is the time that legislators should step up and safeguard consumers’ ability to exercise their full ownership rights over the electronics they purchase—including the right to repair and resell them, even as technology evolves.”
Consumers across Washington have shared stories with CR, detailing the pains they have taken to be able to salvage their electronics at reasonable prices and with their local repair shops, and their dismay at unnecessary waste of valuable products that they use every day.
As CR noted in our February 1 letter to the Washington House Consumer Protection & Business Committee, the organization has long supported this “right to repair,” including the development of model legislation to help guide state legislators in drafting bills such as ESHB 1392. If ESHB 1392 becomes law, it will be the strongest right to repair law in the country—protecting common sense rights that Washingtonians deserve.