Senate passes broad consumer‑protection package after heated floor debate over rental disclosures

The Senate adopted a broad consumer‑protection and safety package — Senate Bill 3 as amended — after hours of debate on multiple sections and a recorded roll‑call vote.

Sponsor Senator Maroney described the measure as multi‑section: an "all‑in pricing" requirement to make mandatory fees clear to consumers; a narrowed connected‑device privacy rule to prevent sale of camera/microphone data without explicit activation; a right‑to‑repair provision to make parts, tools and documentation available at a "fair and reasonable" price excluding research and development costs; a requirement that municipalities move their public websites to the .gov domain; updates to price‑gouging statute (limited to formal disaster declarations and allowing upstream investigations); and click‑to‑cancel protections for subscriptions. Sections added late in the amendment create a standardized rental terms summary and require disclosure of mandatory periodic fees for advertised rental prices.

Floor debate on the bill’s housing disclosure sections was especially contentious. Senator Sampson urged colleagues to reject the housing language and argued it interfered with private contract negotiations and could produce unintended consequences for landlords and tenants. He offered an amendment to strike sections 9 and 10 (the housing pieces); the amendment failed on roll call. Opposing senators, including sponsor Senator Duff and others, framed the package as needed consumer protections against opaque pricing, eavesdropping devices and unfair subscription practices.

After the Senate adopted the amendment and later rejected the housing‑strike amendment, the full bill passed on roll call. Senators asked agencies and stakeholders to continue technical work and implementation guidance for the new rental disclosure form and for administrative rules related to connected devices and right‑to‑repair provisions.