The Maine State Senate voted 24-10 Tuesday to uphold Gov. Janet Mills’ (D) veto of an automotive right to repair bill approved by lawmakers last year.
This comes one week after House lawmakers moved to overturn the veto by a margin of 96-44.
Designed to implement recommendations from the Automotive Right to Repair Working Group, the vetoed LD 1228 aimed to clarify and improve the effectiveness of a law approved by voters at the ballot box in 2023.
[RELATED: Maine House of Representatives Overrides Gov. Janet Mills’ Veto of Automotive Right to Repair Bill]
Under the citizens’ initiative, vehicle manufacturers were required to standardize onboard diagnostic systems, as well as allow both owners and non-dealership repair facilities remote access to these systems and mechanical data.
In her veto letter articulating the reasoning behind her rejection of the bill, Gov. Mills drew attention to the inclusion of what she characterized as a “controversial provision” allowing vehicle manufacturers a greater degree of control over how they would make telemetric data available to unauthorized repairers.
Mills expressly notes her support of the working group’s recommendations but that this measure was not originally among them, instead being added later “at the urging of automobile manufacturers.”
[RELATED: Mainers Resoundingly Support Automotive “Right to Repair” in Tuesday’s Election]
In order to overturn a gubernatorial veto, at least two-thirds of both the House and Senate must vote to do so.
Despite meeting this threshold in the House, Tuesday’s vote in the Senate means that this bill will not become law.
The right to repair legislation approved by Maine voters in 2023 remains in place, but the clarifications and changes introduced in LD 1228 will not be incorporated into state law.
Lawmakers will have the opportunity to revisit the automotive right to repair issue this session, as a legislative vehicle for doing so still remains on the table.
LD 292, sponsored by Rep. Amanda N. Collamore (R-Pittsfield), was specifically highlighted by Mills in her veto letter earlier this month as a potential means by which legislators could still implement the Right to Repair Working Group’s recommendations for improving upon the 2023 citizens initiative.
