SB2700

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

RIGHT TO REPAIR ACT

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

"Alarm system" means an assembly of equipment and devices arranged to detect a hazard or signal the presence of an off‑normal situation. "Alarm system" does not include fire protection systems.

"Antenna" means a resonant device designed to capture electromagnetic energy transmitted by direct satellite or commercial radio or television broadcasting facilities and that is not a part of an electronic set and is to be located outside or in the attic of a residence.

"Appliance" or "major home appliance" includes any refrigerator, freezer, range, microwave oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, trash compactor, or air-conditioner unit normally used or sold for personal, family, household, or home office use, or use in private motor vehicles.

"Authorized repair provider" includes:

(1) An individual or business that is unaffiliated with a manufacturer and that has an arrangement with the manufacturer, for a definite or indefinite period, under which the manufacturer grants to the individual or business a license to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products under the name of the manufacturer or an arrangement with the manufacturer to offer diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products on behalf of the manufacturer; and

(2) A manufacturer that offers to provide diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for electronic or appliance products manufactured by or on behalf of, or sold or otherwise supplied by, an original equipment manufacturer, and that does not have an intellectual property arrangement with an unaffiliated individual or business.

"Documentation" means any electronic or appliance product manual, diagram, reporting output, service code description, schematic, or similar information that is used by an authorized repair provider in effecting the provision of diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services for the electronic or appliance product.

"Electronic or appliance product" or "product" means an electronic set, an appliance, an antenna, or a rotator that is used or sold in the State for which the manufacturer makes available tools, parts, and documentation to authorized repair providers. "Electronic or appliance product" or "product" includes any electronic set, appliance, antenna, or rotator sold to any school, business, local government, or in other methods outside of direct retail sale. "Electronic or appliance product" or "product" does not include:

(1) Equipment or repair parts;

(2) Alarm systems, including a fire protection system, or any components thereof; or

(3) Video game consoles.

"Electronic set" includes any television, radio, audio or video recorder or playback equipment, video camera, video game, video monitor, computer system, photocopier, or facsimile machine normally used or sold for personal, family, household, or home office use.

"Equipment" means all-terrain vehicles and other machinery, equipment, implements, or attachments used for, or in connection with:

(1) Lawn, garden, golf course, landscaping, or grounds maintenance;

(2) Planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, and producing agricultural or forestry products;

(3) Raising, feeding, or tending to, or harvesting products from, livestock and any other activity in connection with the activities described in this paragraph; or

(4) Industrial, construction, maintenance, mining, or utility activities or applications, including material handling equipment.

"Equipment" does not include any self-propelled vehicle designed primarily for the transportation of persons or property on a street or highway.

"Fair and reasonable terms" with respect to:

(1) Obtaining a part, tool, or documentation, means at costs and upon terms that are equivalent to the most favorable costs and terms under which the manufacturer offers the part, tool, or documentation to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient and timely means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider;

(2) Documentation requested in physical printed form, including any relevant documentation updates, means only the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending the physical documentation;

(3) Documentation not requested in physical printed form, including any relevant documentation updates, means at no charge;

(4) Tool requested in physical form, means only the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending the tool;

(5) Tool not requested in physical form, including any relevant documentation updates, means at no charge and without imposing impediments to access or use of the tools to diagnose, maintain, or repair and enable full functionality of the product, or in a manner that impairs the efficient and cost-effective performance of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair; and

(6) A manufacturer that does not use an authorized repair provider, means at a price that reflects the actual cost to the manufacturer to prepare and deliver the part, tool, or documentation, exclusive of any research and development costs incurred.

"Manufacturer" means a business engaged in the business of selling or leasing to any individual or business new electronic or appliance products.

"Part" means any new or used replacement part or assembly of parts made available by a manufacturer to an authorized repair provider to facilitate the maintenance or repair of a product sold by the manufacturer.

"Repair parts" means all parts and products related to the service or repair of equipment. "Repair parts" includes superseded parts.

"Rotator" with respect to an antenna installation or repair, means an electromechanical device operated from a remote location to rotate an antenna on a horizontal plane that is not a part of an electronic set and is to be located outside or in the attic of a residence.

"Service dealer" means a person who, for compensation, engages in, or holds itself out to the public as offering services in the business of:

(1) Repairing, servicing, or maintaining an electronic set normally used or sold for personal, family, household, or home office use;

(2) Installing, repairing, servicing, or maintaining equipment or a burglar alarm system for use in private motor vehicles;

(3) Installing, repairing, servicing, or maintaining television or radio receiver antennas, rotators, and accessories or direct satellite signal receiving equipment located on or adjacent to a residence and not involving a function that is subject to and regulated under chapter 444; or

(4) Repairing, servicing, or maintaining major appliances.

"Tool" means any software program, hardware, or other apparatus made available by a manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product to an authorized repair provider for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the product. "Tool" includes software or other mechanisms that provision, program, pair a part, provide or calibrate functionality, or perform any other function required to repair a product or part thereof back to fully functional condition, including any updates.

"Trade secret" shall have the same meaning as in section 482B‑2.

"Video game console" means a computing device, including any components and peripherals thereof, that is primarily used by consumers for playing video games. "Video game console" includes a console machine, a handheld console device, or another device or system. "Video game console" does not include a general or an all-purpose computer, including a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or cell phone.

§ -2 Requirements. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, each manufacturer of an electronic or appliance product that is sold to the retailer or any other person or business outside of direct retail sale at a wholesale price of:

(1) Not less than $50 and not more than $99.99 shall make available to each applicable owner of the product, service and repair facility, and service dealer, sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, including any updates thereof, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least three years after the last date that a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the three-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product; and

(2) More than $99.99 shall make available to each applicable owner of the product, service and repair facility, and service dealer, sufficient documentation and functional parts and tools, including any updates thereof, on fair and reasonable terms, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of a product for at least seven years after the last date that a product model or type was manufactured, regardless of whether the seven-year period exceeds the warranty period for the product.

(b) Before repairing an electronic or appliance product, any service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider of a manufacturer shall:

(1) Provide to the customer seeking the repair a written notice that informs the customer that the service and repair facility is not an authorized repair provider for the product; and

(2) Disclose to the customer seeking the repair whether the service and repair facility uses any used replacement parts or replacement parts provided by a supplier other than the manufacturer of the product.

§ -3 Limitations and exclusions. (a) This chapter shall not apply if the manufacturer provides an equivalent or better, readily available replacement electronic or appliance product at no charge to the customer.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring:

(1) A manufacturer to divulge a trade secret or license any intellectual property, including copyrights or patents, except to the extent necessary for the manufacturer to comply with the requirements of this chapter;

(2) The distribution of a product's source code;

(3) A manufacturer to make available special documentation, tools, and parts that would disable or override any antitheft security measures set by the owner of the product without the owner's authorization;

(4) A manufacturer to sell service parts if the service parts are no longer provided by the manufacturer or made available to an authorized repair provider; or

(5) A manufacturer that is considered an authorized repair provider to make available any documentation or tools:

(A) That the manufacturer uses only to perform, at no cost, virtual diagnostic services through telephone, internet, chat, email, or other similar means that do not involve the manufacturer physically handling the customer's electronic or appliance product, unless the manufacturer makes the documentation or tools available to an individual or business that is unaffiliated with the manufacturer; or

(B) Used exclusively for repairs completed by machines that operate on several electronic or appliance products simultaneously, if the manufacturer makes available to any owner of the product, service and repair facility, or service dealer sufficient alternative documentation and tools to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the electronic or appliance product.

§ -4 Limitation on liability. No manufacturer or authorized repair provider shall be liable for any damage or injury caused to any electronic or appliance product, person, or property that occurs as a result of diagnosis, maintenance, repair, or modification performed by a service dealer or owner, including:

(1) Any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages except to the extent that the damages are due to a design defect or manufacturing flaw that existed before, or independent of, the repair, diagnosis, maintenance, or modification performed pursuant to this chapter;

(2) Any loss of data, privacy, or profit; or

(3) Any inability to use, or reduced functionality of, the electronic or appliance product.

§ -5 Remedies. (a) Any person or entity that knows or reasonably should know that the person or entity is violating this chapter shall be fined:

(1) $1,000 per day for the first violation of this chapter;

(2) $2,000 per day for the second violation; and

(3) $5,000 per day for any subsequent violations;

provided that the fines shall be imposed within three years from the date of the alleged violation.

(b) Any fines collected pursuant to subsection (a) shall be collected in a civil action brought by the attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection on behalf of the State."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2700
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII