Maine’s Right to Repair Working Group Returns to Committee

Maine’s working group on its Right to Repair ordinance is now back in committee, following the veto of a bill that would have potentially altered the Right to Repair legislation passed by voters in 2023.

Fox Bangor reports that the working group is now meeting again in Augusta, prompted by Governor Janet Mills vetoing a bill carrying over the measure. Her reason for doing so was because of a provision she said would have allowed auto manufacturers to control how data is accessed.

With the veto upheld by state legislators, Right to Repair has returned to the committee level. The commission overseeing the process will consist of 12 people from various automotive sectors, ranging from manufacturers to independent repair shops.

As previously covered by Ratchet+Wrench, a working group in Maine has already met to lay out guidelines for how Right to Repair would best be implemented in the state. The findings of this working group should direct how the law is enacted.

“The attorney general formed a working group of all the stakeholders, all sides of the issue, to try to work out some of those differences and to move to a, so we can move on to a, a very seamless and, implementation of that law,” said Senator Rick Bennett, an independent from Oxford.