Sponsors (2)
The bill expands owners' and independent repairers' ability to diagnose and fix powered mobility devices—improving mobility, lowering repair costs, and increasing repair options—but it raises safety/security risks, legal uncertainty, and potential impacts on manufacturer incentives and device costs.
People who use powered mobility devices (and their caregivers) gain faster, easier access to diagnosis and repair, reducing downtime and preserving mobility.
Owners gain timely access to documentation, parts, and tools (including the ability to disable or reset electronic locks for repair), making repairs more feasible and preventing devices from being bricked during maintenance.
Device owners can face lower repair costs and more repair options because third‑party parts and independent repair providers can offer services on fair terms.
People who rely on powered mobility devices and institutions that care for them may face increased safety and security risks if manufacturer control over software, updates, and parts is weakened or circumvention tools and third‑party components are distributed without adequate safeguards.
The ability to use tools to disable or reset electronic locks for repairs could be misused by attackers if those capabilities are not securely managed, raising risks of unauthorized access or sabotage.
Broader repair/circumvention exceptions create legal uncertainty about the line between legitimate repair and infringing modification, and ambiguity about what proprietary information OEMs must share, producing litigation risk and unclear rights for consumers and manufacturers.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced August 26, 2025 by Maxwell Frost · Last progress August 26, 2025
Creates a federal right-to-repair pathway for powered mobility assistance devices (motorized wheelchairs and wearable robotic walking aids). It exempts diagnosis, maintenance, and repair activities from federal anti-circumvention rules and requires original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide owners and independent repair providers timely access to documentation, parts, embedded software/firmware, tools to disable/reset electronic locks, and a standard request process. The Federal Trade Commission enforces the rule, state attorneys general have backstop authority, and trade-secret protections and limits on obsolete parts are preserved.