Lawmakers gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill that would undo part of Maine’s new automotive right to repair law that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November.

The law, which went into effect last month, requires car manufacturers to share advanced repair data with car owners and independent mechanics through a standardized platform intended to reduce the cost of accessing the information needed to make repairs.

Jacob Sirois works on a Ford F150 at Jason’s Auto Service in Hollis this past fall. Sirois has worked at the shop for about a year and has been working on cars for almost 15 years. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Members of the Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee, however, expressed concerns that the current law puts consumers’ privacy and safety at risk and voted out a bill that would amend it by scrapping the standardized platform.

Tuesday’s vote was 7-1, with five of 13 members absent. Those lawmakers will have two days to cast votes, but the outcome won’t change. The bill now goes to the full House and Senate for votes.

Some lawmakers and right to repair advocates, who believe that the standardized platform is the most impactful aspect of the law, say any amendments go against the will of voters.

“The Legislature should not be usurping the power of the people. That’s just wrong,” Augusta independent repair shop owner Dan Brooks said at a Right to Repair news conference ahead of the vote. “My customers know and trust me. They voted for this.”

Rep. Daniel Sayre, D-Kennebunk, who cast the lone no vote, called the amendment “an absolute wholesale change to what the people supported.”

Still, it’s not unprecedented for the Legislature to amend citizen referendums. Maine’s marijuana laws, for example, have been amended a handful of times since voters passed a referendum to legalize in 2016.

The right to repair law was approved by 84% of voters during the November election in a ballot initiative championed by the Maine Right to Repair Coalition. The first phase of the law requires car manufacturers to make all repair data accessible to independent repair shops and car owners. That data includes “telematics,” or wireless diagnostic information about the vehicle’s performance and systems that is transmitted to the dealer and not stored in the vehicle.

Some say that this data has been withheld from independent repair shops, consumers and after-market companies. Car manufacturers maintain that they offer open access to all repair shops, whether a shop is independent or with an authorized dealer. Even so, many independent mechanics say this data is accessible only through cost-prohibitive repair programs unique to each car manufacturer.

That’s where the second aspect of the law comes in. It requires the Office of the Maine Attorney General to create a standardized platform that compiles telematic data across all makes and models of cars onto one standardized platform by the start of 2025. The Maine Right to Repair Coalition, which wrote the original referendum, wanted the standardized platform to bypass the need for subscriptions to individual platforms from each manufacturer.

The attorney general’s office also must create an “independent entity” with members from different corners of the auto-vehicle industry – including aftermarket parts companies, independent mechanics and manufacturers – to oversee the platform and enforce the law.

The new bill would do away with that second part of the original bill.

THE STICKING POINT

Lawmakers have taken issue with both the standardized platform and the independent entity. Some are concerned that the members would use their power as overseers of the platform for their own financial gain. Lawmakers also are concerned that a standardized platform, which does not yet exist for auto telematics, exposes consumer data to hackers.

Sen. Chip Curry, D-Waldo, co-chair of the committee, worried that the law prioritizes financial gain for aftermarket companies to the detriment of consumers and independent, small-business owners.

“I really wanted to like this law … but when I get to this independent entity, I get really (suspicious) of what’s the real business model,” he said. “I feel like the people of Maine are being asked to referee a fight between the manufacturers, and the independent auto parts dealers. … This seems like a trade fight.”

The auto industry agrees. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing the major auto manufacturers, has campaigned against the referendum over concerns about risks to cyber-security and privacy rights.

Rep. Amanda Collamore, R-Pittsfield, sponsored the amendments because she believes that Maine does not have the capability to create a first-of-its-kind platform that is thoroughly cybersecure. She also worries about Mainers paying higher taxes if manufacturers challenge the existing law in court.

In Massachusetts, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation filed a lawsuit against the state of Massachusetts less than three weeks after voters passed a similar referendum in 2020. That lawsuit is still pending as the state gradually enforces different aspects of the law.

As of now, the alliance has said it has no plans to file a lawsuit in Maine and supports the amendments to the law.

“It’s clear the committee takes seriously its role advancing the interests of Mainers and is considering some necessary changes – especially around government control of customer data and vehicle cybersecurity,” Wayne Weikel, an alliance spokesman, said after Tuesday’s the vote.