Josh Turkovich, owner of Mon Valley Phone Repair in Monessen, repairs an iPad in his shop. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
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For Rob Oliver, personal medical equipment means the difference between living life freely and being confined to his bed.
When he needed to attach a new footrest to his shower chair, Oliver, a Pittsburgh native who is paralyzed from the chest down, reached out to the manufacturer to order a replacement part. While the component only cost a few dollars, the manufacturer refused to sell it to him, instead suggesting he purchase a new unit for upward of $1,500.
For now, he’s stuck with a nail holding the footrest in place. Oliver said it’s not the only instance in which a manufacturer refused to sell him parts or allow his attendants and family members to make what he sees as easy repairs.
“We just can’t get it to happen because you can’t get the parts,” Oliver said. “I’m especially disappointed when you have a vendor who has that level of underestimation of what people with disabilities are capable of.”
Stories like Oliver’s are at the center of the push for what’s called “right to repair” legislation. Proposed laws like one in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives would require companies to make available to consumers the parts, tools and knowledge to repair their products, which many manufacturers keep out of reach.
The right to repair movement unites farmers, small business owners, people with disabilities, hospital chains, consumer rights groups and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. It faces opposition from manufacturers of consumer electronics, medical hardware and farming equipment who want to retain control of repairs, citing concerns about intellectual property and safety.
No state has passed broad right to repair legislation, though Pennsylvania is one of at least 25 states to consider it this year. The efforts could affect everything from the price of medical bills to the amount of electronic waste to how much you’ll pay the next time you shatter your phone screen.
Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, introduced a right to repair bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in April 2020. The legislation never made it out of committee, which lawmakers attributed to time constraints imposed by the pandemic. Davis also speculated Republicans may not have prioritized advancing a Democrat-proposed bill.
But with new bipartisan legislation introduced in the House of Representatives and forthcoming legislation in the Senate, the statehouse is gearing up for a deeper look.
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