May 27, 2016—The Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday on Senate Bill 2055, which aims to regulate the generation, collection, analysis, dissemination and sharing of connected-car vehicle data.
After reviewing the bill, the committee recommended the bill be held for further study.
In a letter to the committee, the Automotive Service Association’s (ASA) legislative representative expressed its opposition to the bill.
“SB 2055 is not about the ability to repair vehicles as proponents of the bill have suggested; all of the information necessary to diagnose and repair an automobile is readily available to consumers and all repair facilities. In fact, ASA in collaboration with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) recently launched a new comprehensive online resource at OErepairinfo.com to further assist independent repair professionals and interested consumers in accessing factory tools, service information, programming software and more. And automakers have entered into a 50-state Memorandum of Understanding that ensures access to tools and electronic service information and data necessary to repair any vehicle; legislation in Rhode Island is not necessary for service and repair needs.”
