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House Energy approves 'kill switch' bill after narrowing amendment to payment agreements
Summary
Senate Bill 364, which would prohibit remote activation of vehicle or device 'kill switches' without a warrant and provide damages, passed the committee after an amendment clarified which recurring payment arrangements the bill covers.
Chair Perry introduced Senate Bill 364, an act "establishing kill switch laws prohibiting an entity from remotely activating a kill switch without a warrant, providing damages," as committee staff summarized.
Committee members adopted Amendment 003.003, which expanded the bill’s definition of "recurring payment programs" to specify retail installment sale agreements, lease agreements, rental agreements and other secured creditor agreements. Burns noted the amendment was largely responsive to industry concerns that the original language was overly broad.
Several members expressed privacy concerns while noting the technology’s current presence in the marketplace. Vice Chair Kordom said he would support the bill despite objections that it had been watered down: "I oppose kill switches on lots of things... I have to be able to turn off all satellite and Internet links to me to get off the grid and to feel truly alone... So, I urge the committee to vote for this bill," he said. Representative Sharp echoed privacy unease: "I've never liked this idea... But that's the world we live in. So I think we have to start putting these legislative barriers up to say when officials of the state and maybe even others can use it to their advantage and to our disadvantage."
Representative Carter said he plans to offer a floor amendment requiring disclosure to purchasers or lessees when a product contains a kill switch. "I'm gonna bring an amendment on the floor that says if you're gonna sell something or lease something or rent something to someone in the state that you need to let them know... that it can be killed," Carter said.
The amendment to clarify covered payment arrangements passed 13 ayes and 1 no. The committee then concurred in the amended SB 364 by voice vote and sent the bill to the House; Representative Mitchell agreed to carry it on the floor.
Why it matters: The bill seeks to limit remote disabling of consumer devices without judicial process and to establish damages. The committee narrowed the law’s scope to enumerated payment/credit relationships; members signaled further floor amendments are likely, particularly on consumer notice requirements.
Votes at a glance: Amendment 003.003 — passed, 13-1; concurrence on SB 364 as amended — voice vote in favor, bill moves to the House.
