Bill Text: CA SB244 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Right to Repair Act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 704, Statutes of 2023. [SB244 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB244-Chaptered.html
Senate Bill
No. 244
CHAPTER 704
An act to amend and renumber the heading of Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 42490) of, and to add Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 42488) to, Part 3 of Division 30 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste management.
[
Approved by
Governor
October 10, 2023.
Filed with
Secretary of State
October 10, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 244, Eggman.
Right to Repair Act.
Existing law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, provides a comprehensive set of procedures for the enforcement of express and implied warranties on consumer goods, as defined. Under existing law, every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to an electronic or appliance product, including televisions, radios, audio or video recording equipment, major home appliances, antennas, and rotators, with a wholesale price to the retailer of not less than $50 nor more than $99.99 is required to make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of the product for at least 3 years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the 3-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product. Existing law also requires every manufacturer making an express warranty with respect to
an electronic or appliance product, as described above, with a wholesale price to the retailer of $100 or more, to make available to service and repair facilities sufficient service literature and functional parts to effect the repair of the product for at least 7 years after the date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the 7-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.
This bill would enact the Right to Repair Act. The bill would require, except as specified and regardless of whether any express warranty is made, the manufacturer of an above-described electronic or appliance product, in the above-described circumstances, and in those same circumstances but sold to others outside of direct retail sales, to make available, on fair and reasonable terms, to product owners, service and repair facilities, and service dealers, the means, as described, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the product, as provided. The
bill would also require a service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider, as defined, of a manufacturer to provide a written notice of that fact to any customer seeking repair of an electronic or appliance product before the repair facility or service dealer repairs the product, and to disclose if it uses replacement parts that are used or from a supplier that is not the manufacturer. The bill would also authorize a city, a county, a city and county, or the state to bring an action in superior court to impose civil penalties on a person or entity for violating the Right to Repair Act, as provided. The bill would make these requirements and enforcement provisions operative on July 1, 2024.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 8.6 (commencing with Section 42488) is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:CHAPTER 8.6. Right to Repair Act
42488.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Right to Repair Act.42488.1.
It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a fair marketplace for the repair of electronic and appliance products and to prohibit intentional barriers and limitations to third-party repair.42488.2.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product with a wholesale price to the retailer, or to others outside of direct retail sale, of not less than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents ($99.99), shall make available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers, sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least three years after the last date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.(b) Notwithstanding any other law, every manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product with a wholesale price to the retailer, or to others outside of direct retail sale, of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, shall make available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, inclusive of any updates, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least seven years after the last date a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.
(c) Except as necessary to comply with this section, this section does not require a manufacturer to
divulge a trade secret or license any intellectual property, including copyrights or patents.
(d) This section does not require the distribution of a product’s source code.
(e) A service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider of a manufacturer shall provide a written notice to any customer seeking repair of an electronic or appliance product before the repair facility or service dealer repairs the product that informs the customer that it is not an authorized repair provider for the product, and shall disclose if it uses any used replacement parts or replacement parts provided by a supplier other than the manufacturer of the product.
(f) Nothing in
this section shall be construed to require a manufacturer to make available special documentation, tools, and parts that would disable or override antitheft security measures set by the owner of the product without the owner’s authorization.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a manufacturer to sell service parts if the service parts are no longer provided by the manufacturer or made available to an authorized repair provider.
(h) (1) No manufacturer or authorized repair provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to any electronic or appliance product, person, or property that occurs as a result of repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed by a service dealer or owner, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages.
(B) Any loss of data, privacy, or profits.
(C) Any inability to use, or reduced functionality of, the electronic or appliance product.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a design defect or manufacturing flaw that existed prior to, or independent of, the repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed pursuant to this section.
(i) If a manufacturer is considered an authorized repair provider under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), this section shall not require the manufacturer to make available either of the following:
(1) Documentation or tools that the manufacturer itself uses only to perform, at no cost, diagnostic services virtually through telephone, internet, chat, email, or other similar means that do not involve the manufacturer physically handling the customer’s electronic or appliance product, unless the manufacturer also makes the documentation or tools available to an individual or business that is unaffiliated with the manufacturer.
(2) Documentation or tools used exclusively for repairs completed by machines that operate on several electronic or appliance products simultaneously, if the manufacturer makes
available to owners of the product, service and repair facilities, and service dealers sufficient alternative documentation and tools to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the electronic or appliance product.
(j) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) (A) “Authorized repair provider” means an individual or business that is unaffiliated with a manufacturer
and that has an arrangement with the manufacturer, for a definite or indefinite period, under which the manufacturer grants to the individual or business a license to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products under the name of the manufacturer or an arrangement with the manufacturer to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products on behalf of the manufacturer.
(B) A manufacturer that offers diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for the manufacturer’s
electronic or appliance products is considered an authorized repair provider with respect to the electronic or appliance products if the manufacturer does not have an arrangement described in subparagraph (A) with an unaffiliated individual or business.
(2) “Documentation” means any electronic or appliance product manual, diagram, reporting output, service code description, schematic, or similar information that is provided by a manufacturer to an authorized repair provider, or that is for use by the manufacturer if the manufacturer does not have any authorized repair providers, for purposes of effecting the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of
the electronic or appliance product.
(3) (A) “Electronic or appliance product” or “product” means a product, manufactured for the first time, and first sold or used in California, on or after July 1, 2021, described in subdivision (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code for which the manufacturer makes available tools, parts, and documentation to authorized repair providers, and includes products described in those subdivisions that are sold to schools, businesses, local governments, or in other methods outside of direct retail sale.
(B) “Electronic or appliance product” or “product” does not include any of the following:
(i) Equipment or repair parts as defined in Chapter
28 (commencing with Section 22900) of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code.
(ii) A product or component of an “alarm system” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 7590.1 of the Business and Professions
Code, including a fire protection system, as defined in the California Fire Code.
(iii) A video game console.
(4) “Fair and reasonable terms” means each of the following, as applicable:
(A) At costs and terms that
are equivalent to the most favorable costs and terms under which the manufacturer offers the part, tool, or documentation to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider.
(B) For documentation, including any relevant updates, that the documentation is made available at no charge, except that, when the documentation is requested in physical printed form, a charge may be included for the reasonable actual
costs of preparing and sending the copy.
(C) For tools, that the tools are made available by the manufacturer at no charge and without imposing impediments to access or use of the tools to diagnose, maintain, or repair and enable full functionality of the product, or in a manner that impairs the efficient and cost-effective performance of any such diagnosis, maintenance, or repair, except that, when a tool is requested in physical form, a
charge may be included for the reasonable, actual costs of preparing and sending the tool.
(D) If a manufacturer does not use an authorized repair provider, “fair and reasonable terms” means at a price that reflects the actual cost to the manufacturer to prepare and deliver the part, tool, or documentation, exclusive of any research and development costs
incurred.
(5) “Part” means any replacement part or assembly of parts, either new or used, made available by a manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to an authorized repair provider to facilitate the maintenance or repair of a product sold by the manufacturer.
(6) “Service dealer” has the same meaning as defined in Section 9801 of the Business and Professions Code.
(7) “Tool” means any software program, hardware implement, or other apparatus made available by a manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to an authorized repair provider for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the product, including software or other mechanisms that provision, program,
pair a part, provide or calibrate functionality, or perform any other function required to repair the product or part back to fully functional condition, including any updates.
(8) “Trade secret” has the same meaning as set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, or paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 499c of the Penal Code.
(9) “Video game console” means a computing device, including its components and peripherals, that is primarily used by consumers for playing video games, such as a console machine, a handheld console device, or another device or system. “Video game console” does not include a general or an all-purpose computer, which includes, but is not limited to, a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or cell phone.
(k) This section shall not apply if the manufacturer provides an equivalent or better, readily available replacement electronic or appliance product at no charge to the customer.
(l) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.
42488.3.
(a) (1) A city, a county, a city and county, or the state may bring an action in superior court to impose civil liability on a person or entity that knowingly violated this chapter, or reasonably should have known that it violated this chapter, in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day for the first violation of this chapter, two thousand dollars ($2,000) per day for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) per day for the third and subsequent violations.(2) Any action described in paragraph (1) shall be commenced within three years from the date of the alleged violation.
(b) Any civil penalties collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be paid to the office of the city attorney, county counsel, district attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action. The penalties collected pursuant to this section by the
Attorney General shall be deposited into the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.
