A bill that seeks to make it easier for Alaskans to repair consumer electronics cleared the state Senate on Monday and headed to the House, as the end of the legislative session approaches.
Senate Bill 111, known as the Consumer Digital Right to Repair Act, would require electronics manufacturers to provide parts, documentation and tools to Alaskans looking to fix things like broken cellphones, laptops, security cameras and baby monitors. They’d be required to sell those to individuals and independent repair shops on the same terms they give manufacturer-authorized service providers, and to provide much of the documentation for free.
Hundreds of Alaskans sent postcards urging legislators to support the bill, said its sponsor Sen. Forrest Dunbar, an Anchorage Democrat. Far too often, he told colleagues on the Senate floor, companies make it difficult or expensive for anyone but an authorized technician to work on their products, and the broken devices wind up in landfills.
“Declining repairability is not caused by alleged technical problems inherent to modern products,” Dunbar said. “It is a choice made by some manufacturers to exert control and extract profits beyond the initial sale.”
The bill is limited to consumer electronics, so it doesn’t cover things like cars, snowmachines, farm equipment, fire alarms or medical devices.
Dunbar said he wished the Senate would have supported a broader approach.
During hearings on the bill, advocates pointed to tactics employed by manufacturers like John Deere that limit farmers’ ability to repair their own tractors or combines. But legislators pared back the bill after pressure from Alaska-based powersports and heavy equipment dealers, who said it would hurt their business model.
Tech industry groups also opposed the bill, saying unauthorized repairs could be low-quality or introduce security risks.
That’s not a problem, said Nikiski Republican Sen. Jesse Bjorkman. Alaskans should be free to modify their electronics as they see fit despite the risks, he said.
“If you are, you know, Tim the Toolman Taylor of (TV show) Home Improvement fame, and you want to give your saw more power — or your phone, or what have you — there are certain inherent risks, right?” he said. “The bill doesn't excuse people from the risks involved in that.”
Sen. Mike Cronk, a Tok Republican and the Senate’s minority leader, said he was concerned the bill could have unintended consequences, like companies deciding to no longer sell their products in Alaska.
“Alaska is a, relatively, drop in the bucket,” he said. “I don't really want to be, you know, punishing the manufacturers for being up here and maybe even removing products from us.”
Others were skeptical of Cronk’s concern that manufacturers would pull their products from the Alaska market, given that 12 other states already have similar laws on the books. Other states’ approaches vary widely, according to a document provided along with the bill, though many focus on consumer electronics.
The bill passed the Senate 15 to 5, with minority Republican Fairbanks Sen. Robb Myers joining all of the bipartisan majority in support.
The House Labor and Commerce Committee plans to hear the bill Wednesday.
The legislative session’s constitutional deadline to adjourn is May 20.
