AN ACT CONCERNING A CONSUMER'S RIGHT TO TIMELY WHEELCHAIR REPAIRS.

LCO No. 4231 1 of 5 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6702 January Session, 2023 LCO No. 4231 Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES Introduced by: (HS) AN ACT CONCERNING A CONSUMER'S RIGHT TO REPAIR A POWERED WHEELCHAIR. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2024) (a) As used in this section: 1 (1) "Authorized repair provider" means a person authorized by a n 2 original equipment m anufacturer to service or repair a powered 3 wheelchair, whether or not such provider is affiliated with the 4 manufacturer; 5 (2) "Documentation" means a manual, diagram, including , but not 6 limited to, a schematic diagram, reporting output, service code 7 description, or similar type of information, whether in an electronic or 8 tangible format, that a n original equipment manufacturer provides to 9 an authorized repair provider for purposes of repairing a powered 10 wheelchair; 11 (3) "Embedded software" means (A) programmable instructions 12 provided on firmware delivered with an electronic component of 13 equipment or with any part for the purpose of restoring or improving 14 Raised Bill No. 6702 LCO No. 4231 2 of 5 operation of a powered wheelchair or part, and (B) all relevant patches 15 and fixes that the original equipment manufacturer makes to such 16 software for a powered wheelchair or to any part for the purpose of 17 restoring or improving the powered wheelchair or part; 18 (4) "Fair and reasonable terms and costs" means terms that are 19 equivalent to the mo st favorable terms that the original equipment 20 manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider and costs that are 21 not greater than the manufacturer's suggested retail price, provided: (A) 22 Costs are calculated using net costs incurred, accounting for a ny 23 discounts, rebates or incentives offered , (B) with respect to 24 documentation, there is no charge by the manufacturer for 25 documentation or any relevant updates to the documentation, except 26 the manufacturer may charge a fee for a printed copy of the 27 documentation if the amount of the fee covers only the manufacturer's 28 actual cost to prepare and send the printed copy of the documentation , 29 and (C) with respect to tools that are software programs, there is no 30 charge by the manufacturer and no requirement by the manufacturer 31 for authorization or Internet access or other impediments to access or 32 use in a manner that impairs the efficient and cost-effective performance 33 of the equipment or part; 34 (5) "F irmware" means a software program or set of instructions 35 programmed for the powered wheelchair or part to allow the powered 36 wheelchair or part to communicate with itself or with other computer 37 hardware; 38 (6) "Independent repair provider" means a person who is (A) neither 39 a manufacturer's authorized repair provider nor affiliated with a 40 manufacturer's authorized repair provider or a manufacturer , and (B) 41 engaged in offering or providing services for the powered wheelchair; 42 (7) " Original equipment manufacturer " or "manufacturer" means a 43 person, as defined in section 20 -419 of the general statutes, doing 44 business in the state and engaged in the business of selling, leasing or 45 otherwise supplying powered wheelchairs or parts manufactured by or 46 Raised Bill No. 6702 LCO No. 4231 3 of 5 on behalf of itself for such wheelchair to any individual, business or 47 other entity; 48 (8) "Owner" means the owner of a powered wheelchair; 49 (9) " Part" means a new or used replacement part for a powered 50 wheelchair that a manufacturer offers for sale or otherwise makes 51 available for the purpose of providing services; 52 (10) " Powered wheelchair" means a motorized , wheeled device 53 designed for use by a person with a physical disability; 54 (11) " Services" means diagnostic, maintenance or repair services 55 performed on a powered wheelchair or part; 56 (12) "Tools" means any software program, hardware implement or 57 other apparatus used for diagnosis, maintenance or repair of a powered 58 wheelchair or parts, including software or another m echanism that 59 provides, programs or pairs a new pa rt, calibrates functionality or 60 performs any other function required to return the powered wheelchair 61 or part to fully functional condition; and 62 (13) "Trade secret" has the same meaning as provided in section 31-63 367 of the general statutes. 64 (b) (1) E xcept as provided in sub division (2) of this s ubsection, an 65 original equipment manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms 66 and costs, make available to an independent repair provider or owner 67 of a powered wheelchair made by the manufacturer any 68 documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools that are 69 intended for use with the powered wheelchair or any part, including 70 updates to documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware or 71 tools. With respect to a powered wheelchair that contains an electronic 72 security lock or other security -related function, a manufacturer shall, 73 with fair and reasonable terms and costs, make available to an 74 independent repair provider and owner any documentation, parts, 75 embedded software, firmware, or tools needed to re set the lock or 76 Raised Bill No. 6702 LCO No. 4231 4 of 5 function when disabled in the course of providing services. The 77 manufacturer may make the documentation, parts, embedded software, 78 firmware, or tools available to an independent repair provider and 79 owners through appropriate secure release systems. 80 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a part no 81 longer available to the original equipment manufacturer or material the 82 release of which would cause the manufacturer to divulge a trade secret, 83 except that a manufacturer shall no t refuse to make available to an 84 independent repair provider or owner any documentation, part, 85 embedded software, firmware or tool necessary to provide services on 86 grounds that the documentation, part, embedded software, firmware or 87 tool itself is a trade secret. A manufacturer may (A) redact 88 documentation to remove a trade secret from the documentation before 89 providing access to the documentation if the usability of the redacted 90 documentation for the purpose of providing services is not diminished, 91 or (B) withhold information regarding a component of, design of, 92 functionality of, or process of developing a part, embedded software, 93 firmware or a tool if the information is a trade secret and the usability 94 of the part, embedded software, firmware or tool for t he purpose of 95 providing services is not diminished. 96 (c) An original equipment manufacturer shall not be liable for faulty 97 or otherwise improper repairs provided by an independent repair 98 provider or owner, including faulty or otherwise improper repairs that 99 cause damage to powered wheelchairs or an inability to use, or a 100 reduced functionality of, a powered wheelchair resulting from the 101 faulty or otherwise improper repair. 102 (d) (1) S ubject to sub division (2) of this subsection, nothing in this 103 section (A) alters the terms of any contract or other arrangement in force 104 between an original equipment manufacturer and an authorized repair 105 provider, including the performance or provision of warranty or recall 106 repair work and any exclusivity or noncompete clause in a contract, (B) 107 requires a manufacturer to provide an independent repair provider or 108 owner access to information, other than documentation, that the 109 Raised Bill No. 6702 LCO No. 4231 5 of 5 manufacturer provides to an authorized repair provider pursuant to a 110 contract or other arrangement with the authorized repair provider , 111 except as necessary to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of 112 this section, or (C) exempts a manufacturer from a product liability 113 claim that is otherwise authorized under law. 114 (2) With respect to a contract or other arrangement, or renewal of a 115 contract or existing arrangement, that an original equipment 116 manufacturer enters into after January 1, 2024 , any contract term, 117 provision, agreement or language in the contract or arrangement that 118 waives, avoids, restricts or limits the manufacturer's obligations under 119 this section is void and unenforceable. 120 Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2024) Any violation of section 1 of 121 this act by an original equipment manufacturer, as defined in section 1 122 of this act, shall be deemed an unfair trade practice under subsection (a) 123 of section 42-110b of the general statutes. 124 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 January 1, 2024 New section Sec. 2 January 1, 2024 New section Statement of Purpose: To require manufacturers of powered wheelchairs to provide documentation, tools, hardware and software, if necessary, to allow a consumer to repair, or hire an independent contractor to repair, a powered wheelchair. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]