SB 554 - Under the act, an authorized repair provider shall have the right to purchase diagnostic, service, or repair information in a standardized format with other manufacturers, instead of a proprietary format from a manufacturer if the manufacturer sells such information to independent repair providers or third-party providers as provided in the act. The act further provides that owners and independent repair providers shall have the right to purchase from manufacturers of products sold or used in the state all diagnostic repair tools as described in the act.
Furthermore, manufacturers that provide repair information to aftermarket tools, diagnostics, or third-party service information publications and systems have fully satisfied their obligations under this provision and are not responsible for the content and functionality of aftermarket diagnostic tools or service information systems.
Under the act, manufacturers of products sold or used in this state for the purpose of providing security-related functions shall not exclude diagnostic, service, or repair information necessary to reset a security-related electronic function from information provided to owners and independent repair providers. If necessary for security purposes, manufacturers may provide such information to owners and independent repair providers through an appropriate secure date release system.
The act provides that nothing in this act shall require the manufacturer to divulge a trade secret.
This act shall not be read, interpreted, or construed to abrogate, interfere with, contradict, or alter the terms of an agreement between an authorized repair provider and a manufacturer pursuant to the authorized repair agreement. An exception includes disputes between a manufacturer and its authorized repair provider related to either party's compliance with an existing repair agreement as described in the act.
This act shall not require manufacturers or authorized repair providers to provide an owner or independent repair provider access to non-diagnostic and non-repair information provided by a manufacturer to an authorized repair provider pursuant to the terms of an authorizing agreement.
Under the act, an independent provider or owner who believes that a manufacturer has failed to provide information described in the act shall notify the manufacturer in writing and give the manufacturer thirty days from the time the manufacturer receives the complaint to cure the failure. If the manufacturer cures such failure within thirty days, damages are limited to actual damages in any future litigation. If the manufacturer fails to cure such failure or if an independent repair provider or owner is not satisfied with the manufacturer's cure, the independent repair provider may file a complaint in circuit court as described in the act. The Attorney General shall enforce this act. Each violations under this act shall be punishable by a five-hundred-dollar fine, which shall be deposited into the school fund of the county in which the action arose.
This act is identical to HB 217 (2023), and similar to HB 698 (2023) and HB 2141 (2022).
JULIA SHEVELEVA