Committee approves Kansas Digital Right to Repair Act after narrowing amendments

The committee moved House Bill 2700 favorably for passage as amended after agreeing to a package of stakeholder changes that narrow the bill’s scope and rename it the Kansas Digital Right to Repair Act.

Kyle Hamilton (reviser) summarized the bill as establishing a right for purchasers or lessees of digital electronic equipment to obtain the legal authorization, parts and documentation from original equipment manufacturers necessary to diagnose, maintain and repair such equipment. The attorney general would be the enforcing authority under the statute as drafted.

Dan, a Garmin representative who worked with conferees including auto dealers, equipment manufacturers and electronics firms, described an amendment that adds a definition of "nonroad equipment," limits covered equipment to items "sold or leased to a consumer," constrains the scope to activities OEMs already provide to authorized repair providers, and clarifies training and definition language. "The amendment further clarifies that the only thing under scope of this bill is any activity already provided by an OEM to an authorized repair provider," Dan said.

Representative Ward offered a technical correction to change a date in the amendment (page 2, line 16) to 2026; Representative Hsu successfully offered an amendment to rename the act the "Kansas Digital Right to Repair Act." The committee then voted to pass HB2700 favorably for passage as amended; Representative Ward moved, and Representative Boehme seconded. Voice vote: motion passes.

Practical effect: the adopted amendment narrows the bill to digital consumer equipment and to materials or repair activities already offered by OEMs to their authorized repair providers; the committee granted leave to the reviser to renumber and make technical corrections before final printing.