Right to repair is now the law in Colorado

Colorado now has some of the broadest right-to-repair laws in the US thanks to a new bill signed by Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday. The HB24-1121 “Consumer Right to Repair Digital Electronic Equipment” rules require all manufacturers to make it easier for consumers and independent electronics businesses to purchase the necessary equipment needed to repair devices themselves.

“Under this bill, when an item is broken, it could be a cellphone like this, a dishwasher, a washing machine, or a laptop, Coloradans will have the information they need to repair their own equipment or use the repair provider of their own choice,” Polis said at the bill signing, as reported by the Colorado Times Recorder.

This builds on Colorado’s right-to-repair laws that were already introduced for agricultural equipment and powered wheelchairs, extending similar protections to almost any consumer electronic device with a chip. Like the repair rules passed in Minnesota last year, Colorado’s law notably covers data center and business-to-business equipment, only without Minnesota’s vague exclusion for “critical infrastructure” equipment.

There are some exclusions, like game consoles (due to lobbying from game console manufacturers over piracy concerns), medical devices, ATVs, and motor vehicles, which are also typical for repair rules introduced in other states like California and New York. Like Oregon’s right-to-repair law, Colorado’s HB24-1121 explicitly prohibits electronics manufacturers from using “parts pairing” to prevent replacement components from working unless approved by company software.