News: 0177903981

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Texas Right To Repair Bill Passes (theverge.com)

(Monday June 02, 2025 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the united-states-of-repairability dept.)


Texas is poised to become the first state with a Republican-controlled government to [1]pass a right to repair law , as its Senate unanimously approved [2]HB 2963 . The bill requires manufacturers to provide parts, manuals, and tools for equipment sold or used in the state. The Verge reports:

> A [3]press release from the United States Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which has pushed for repairability laws nationwide, noted that this would make Texas the ninth state with a right to repair rule, and the seventh with a version that includes consumer electronics. It follows New York, Colorado, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Maine, and most recently, Washington [...].

"More repair means less waste. Texas produces some 621,000 tons of electronic waste per year, which creates an expensive and toxic mess. Now, thanks to this bipartisan win, Texans can fix that," said Environment Texas executive director Luke Metzger.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/law/678334/right-to-repair-texas-hb-2963

[2] https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB2963

[3] https://pirg.org/media-center/release-right-to-repair-passes-overwhelmingly-in-texas/



Question (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

Will Governor Abbott be a stand up guy and sign this?

Re: (Score:3)

by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

Ouch! That's a wheely hot take.

Re: (Score:2)

by Tony Isaac ( 1301187 )

He doesn't have to. Even if he doesn't sign it, in 20 days it becomes law. If he vetoes it, however, that's another story. The Texas Legislature can only override his veto within the same legislative session, which ends today.

Absolutely! (Score:2)

by Dr. Tom ( 23206 )

We need to get rid of all the e-waste being generated by disposable carts. Nics. Lithium cells with USB ports are being thrown away DAILY/HOURLY

Good news for once! (Score:2)

by belmolis ( 702863 )

It sure is good to read some good news for once! And from Texas! Who expected that?

Re: (Score:2)

by Z80a ( 971949 )

I think the only people that actually like non-repairable devices are the corporations.

Many different reasons, sane and or not to hate it from the pollution, to this being some sort of scam, to the whole "you will own nothing and you will like it", to people basically weaponizing it as "the other side loves it!".

Who gets to enforce it? (Score:3, Interesting)

by davidwr ( 791652 )

I skimmed the bill and it looks like only the Texas Attorney General gets to enforce it, which means consumers are at the AG's mercy.

I hope I'm wrong.

Also, it seems to exclude low-cost items (under $50), gaming consoles , large appliances and microwave ovens, and most things whose target market is not your average consumer. It also excludes non-home-use and prescription medical devices as well as some other things.

Re: (Score:2)

by stabiesoft ( 733417 )

I too skimmed it. I'm not sure what it does cover. Maybe targeted to Apple Cell Phones and screen replacements. At first I figured it was a favor to farm/rancher for equipment, but that too is excluded not included. The exclusion list is 2/3rd's of the document.

And yes, it looks like only the AG has purview.

Cars, trucks & tractors? Nope. (Score:2)

by seoras ( 147590 )

Why stop at just picking on Silicon Valley, and by extension California's produce.

What about the car & tractor manufacturers?

The dealership lock in that's been steadily evolving over the years, as technology has become more prevalent in vehicles, needs reining in.

Too hot for the politicians to touch I think. Easier to stick it to a Democratic state than the likes of John Deere.

You're going to get e-waste regardlessly, thats just the nature of consumer computing technology and smart phones as they rapidl

love this! (Score:1)

by tigerstyle ( 10502925 )

i'm a life long democrat. this is non-partisan. let's repair the old stuff as it generally was better made than the new.

The law won't save you (Score:2)

by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 )

With Texan enthusiasm for religion and fascism increasing rapidly, soon they'll be sacrificing their iPhone in a bath of burning holy oil to appease their vengeful god.

Another war ... must it always be so? How many comrades have we lost
in this way? ... Obedience. Duty. Death, and more death ...
-- Romulan Commander, "Balance of Terror", stardate 1709.2