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Committee backs bill requiring manufacturers to disable remote vehicle access for domestic violence victims
Summary
After survivor testimony and law-enforcement support, the committee approved HB 74 with amendments requiring carmakers to provide a secure process to suspend remote access when victims supply a certified protective order and proof of property interest.
Speaker pro tem Mike Johnson and Representative Edmondson presented HB 74, the "Justice for Survivors of Technology-Enabled Abuse" bill, to address growing use of connected-vehicle remote access by domestic abusers.
Representative Mike Johnson, the bill’s author in the House, described cases in which abusers used manufacturer apps to lock or unlock vehicles, start or stop engines, honk horns, change temperature settings and track victims in real time. “This bill creates a clear path for the survivor victims to reclaim their safety and control over their vehicles and over their lives,” Johnson said.
Detective Kelly Downey of the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office testified on law-enforcement experience with apps that provide real-time location and remote control features. “I have investigated cases where the abuser would start the car in a closed garage in the middle of the night, set off the alarm, lock and unlock the door,” Downey said, and described a case where one abuser used the app more than 300 times over 40 days.
Survivor Christine Dowdle described the ongoing fear and loss of autonomy when a third party can track and remotely control a vehicle: “This bill is about restoring control to those who have lost it. It's about saying you have a right to live without being followed, watched, hunted by someone who claimed to love you.”
The committee adopted Amendment Set 2,521 before approving the bill. Key changes included a carve-out if a manufacturer “technologically cannot disable” remote access and a provision that manufacturers and their officers or agents are not liable for civil claims deriving from a technological inability to disable the feature. The amendments also renamed the penalty fund the Survivor Empowerment Fund.
Representative Edmondson moved to report HB 74 as amended; the committee recorded no objection and the bill was reported favorably.
Why it matters: Testimony from law enforcement, a survivor, and advocacy organizations framed the bill as a safety measure that provides victims a secure process to request suspension of vehicle remote access when they hold a protective order and a property interest in the vehicle. The amendments aim to balance victim protections with manufacturer technical limits and liability concerns.
