A right-to-repair bill that allows consumers to repair powered wheelchairs passed in Colorado.
The bill specifically concerns having wheelchair manufacturers provide other persons with the resources needed to repair the powered wheelchairs.
The Colorado state house has passed a bill that would let people who own wheelchairs repair them themselves. HB22-1031 passed with 44 votes in favor and 21 against. Now it will go to the Colorado senate for consideration.
HB22-1031, the Consumer Right to Repair Powered Wheelchairs, is a simple bill. “The bill requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information, to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer’s powered wheelchairs to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services on the owner’s powered wheelchair,” the Colorado legislature’s website explained.
“For too long, manufacturers and specialty repair providers have had a monopoly on repair,” state Rep. Brianna Titone, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement. “This has stymied wheelchair users’ ability to make fixes to their own chairs. “Delays in fixing wheelchairs is not merely an inconvenience. It could result in more damage to the chair or cause injuries to the chair user. People should have the freedom to be able to fix their own devices.”
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