California's 'right to repair' bill is now California's 'right to repair' law

[Eugene]

Source: Engadget

California's 'right to repair' bill is now California's 'right to repair' law

Governor Newsom signed the legislation Tuesday, capping a multi-year campaign for its passage.

Andrew Tarantola
Senior Editor
Tue, Oct 10, 2023, 7:25 PM AST·3 min read

California became just the third state in the nation to pass a "right to repair" consumer protection law on Tuesday, following Minnesota and New York, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 244. The California Right to Repair bill had originally been introduced in 2019. It passed, nearly unanimously, through the state legislature in September.

“This is a victory for consumers and the planet, and it just makes sense,” Jenn Engstrom, state director of CALPIRG, told iFixit (which was also one of SB244's co-sponsors). “Right now, we mine the planet’s precious minerals, use them to make amazing phones and other electronics, ship these products across the world, and then toss them away after just a few years’ use ... We should make stuff that lasts and be able to fix our stuff when it breaks, and now thanks to years of advocacy, Californians will finally be able to, with the Right to Repair.”

Turns out Google isn't offering seven years of replacement parts and software updates to the Pixel 8 out of the goodness of its un-beating corporate heart. The new law directly stipulates that all electronics and appliances costing $50 or more, and sold within the state after July 1, 2021 (yup, two years ago), will be covered under the legislation once it goes into effect next year, on July 1, 2024.

For gear and gadgets that cost between $50 and $99, device makers will have to stock replacement parts and tools, and maintain documentation for three years. Anything over $100 in value gets covered for the full seven-year term. Companies that fail to do so will be fined $1,000 per day on the first violation, $2,000 a day for the second and $5,000 per day per violation thereafter.

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Read more: https://www.engadget.com/californias-right-to-repair-bill-is-now-californias-right-to-repair-law-232526782.html

[ItsjustMe]

1. Surprise: Apple now supports California's right to repair

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/23/23843506/apple-california-right-to-repair-sb-244

Despite lobbying against California’s right-to-repair law in the past, Apple has slowly been warming up to the idea. It established its own self-repair programs for various devices, including the iPhone 14 and M2-equipped MacBooks. While this program lets users obtain the tools and parts they need, right-to-repair advocates argue that it’s still not an economical way to repair the devices. It also made the iPhone 14 easier to repair, and the iPhone 15 Pro is rumored to be easier to repair, too.