House Subcommittee Approves Right to Repair Act

(Akron/Tire Review) The independent automotive aftermarket scored a major victory May 25 in its battle for passage of the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (H.R. 2048) when the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee voted in favor of the legislation in an open mark-up session.

Although the bill was amended during the committee meeting, AAIA said the primary goal of the legislation remained intact. Right to Repair legislation would require the Federal Trade Commission to enforce requirements that independent repair shops have access to the same information and tools that are available to new car dealers.

“The close 14-13 favourable vote came despite an intense lobbying effort launched by the vehicle manufacturers, new car dealers and the Automotive Service Association,” said Aaron Lowe, AAIA’s vice president of government affairs.

“After four years of work by AAIA and a coalition of national and state aftermarket groups, this is a very big step in our drive to ensure the future of our industry,” said Kathleen Schmatz, AAIA president and CEO. “While we continue to hold out hope that the car companies will come back to the table to discuss a non-legislative agreement, we are prepared to continue to drive this legislation through the full committee and the entire legislative process to the desk of the president if need be.”

Two amendments to the bill were accepted by the subcommittee. One addressed the need for a study by the General Accounting Office to measure the scope of service information availability problems being encountered by independent repair shops. The other amendment further clarified that the intent of the legislation is to ensure that the intellectual property of the vehicle manufacturers is thoroughly protected.