Politics & Government

TELL US: Do You Plan to Skip the 'Right to Repair' Ballot Question?

Advocates on both sides of the issue are urging voters not to override the compromise bill passed this summer.

In light of the compromise bill passed July 31, both sides of the "right to repair" debate have begun a campaign to urge voters not to vote on the ballot question next month.

Though the Legislature passed a compromise bill, the deadline for removing the question from the ballot had passed weeks earlier, on July 3. 

"Although it was too late to take this question off the ballot, people can feel confident that the issue has been addressed by the Legislature," Art Kinsman, the spokesman for the Right to Repair Coalition, said at the State House last week

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Under the bill, automakers would be required make available to independent mechanics all repair codes and other diagnostic information but have time to satisfy a mandate that all new cars sold in Massachusetts include an onboard diagnostic and repair information system that can be accessed from a laptop computer, according to the Boston Herald

The bill goes into effect on Nov. 6, the same day as the election. If it passes, it would invalidate the compromise law as of Jan. 1. Legislators would then have until 2015 to try to pass the bill again.

Find out what's happening in Lynnfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

TELL US: Do you plan to skip Question 1?


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