advocacy

Weekly Legislative Update
March 3, 2025

  • Release Date: March 03, 2025

TIA Endorses REPAIR Act in 119th Congress to Strengthen Right to Repair

 

Congressman Neal Dunn (Florida-02) introduced the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act or the “REPAIR Act,” a bill that would ensure vehicle owners have access to important repair and diagnostic data needed for auto repairs.

Currently, automakers are restricting vehicle owners and automotive repair shops from accessing repair data and tools, resulting in higher repair costs, fewer service options, and longer wait times for vehicle maintenance. The REPAIR Act would affirm that this data belongs to the vehicle’s owner, not the manufacturer.

TIA supports the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act to protect the right to repair nationwide.

“American consumers deserve full control over their vehicle repair and maintenance data to ensure they can find the best service for their vehicle at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, vehicle manufacturers are standing in the way of American consumers accessing their own data to use the repair shop of their choosing, limiting consumer choice,” said Congressman Dunn. “For far too long, manufacturers have championed anti-competitive practices by withholding crucial maintenance information, squeezing their customers and independent repair shops."

?“Your vehicle belongs to you, not the manufacturer. I am introducing the REPAIR Act to provide a binding, workable solution to anti-competitive behavior in the auto repair industry to reaffirm consumer control over their vehicle maintenance data and empower them to work with repair shops big and small.”

"Americans are tired of lip service about lowering prices or respecting the trades. We want to be able to fix our own stuff and to be stewards of our stuff and not reliant on a stream of cheap disposable crap. But auto manufacturers have made it increasingly difficult to have real agency," said Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez. "It’s time for Congress to listen to ordinary Americans and pass right to repair legislation."

TIA urges the authorizing committees within Congress to consider the REPAIR Act.

Right to repair remains a top priority for TIA members and a national law would provide for much needed clarity and direction in vehicle repair.

Background:

?On February 11th, a federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed a lawsuit from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation against the state’s Right to Repair law, which passed by a state ballot with 74.97% of the vote. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents a significant portion of vehicle manufacturers selling cars in the United States.

  • Vehicle Manufacturers resisted the Massachusetts ballot measure through another group, the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data, which raised over $26.4 million to campaign against the initiative. Top donors to the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data include General Motors, Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
  • On July 11th, 2023, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation released a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between vehicle manufacturers and two automotive repair industry groups, the Automotive Service Association and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, claiming to have reached an agreement to share crucial diagnostic information.
  • It is notable that the MOU omits the size and scope of the membership of the two groups named in the agreement. The vast majority of groups representing independent aftermarket repair businesses oppose the MOU, including the Tire Industry Association (TIA), Auto Care Association, Consumer Access to Repair (CAR) Coalition, MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and the Preventative Automotive Maintenance Association (PAMA).

BREAKING: Treasury Pauses CTA Enforcement

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced late last week that it is ceasing enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) while it crafts a new set of regulations that will ultimately narrow the scope of the reporting regime.

It’s a huge win, particularly as the CTA’s reporting requirements were scheduled to take effect once again beginning March 21.

Here’s the key passage from FinCEN’s release:

FinCEN announced that it will not issue any fines or penalties or take any other enforcement actions against any companies based on any failure to file or update beneficial ownership information (BOI) reports pursuant to the Corporate Transparency Act by the current deadlines. No fines or penalties will be issued, and no enforcement actions will be taken, until a forthcoming interim final rule becomes effective and the new relevant due dates in the interim final rule have passed. This announcement continues Treasury’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden on businesses, as well as prioritizing under the Corporate Transparency Act reporting of BOI for those entities that pose the most significant law enforcement and national security risks. [Emphasis added.]

The agency also made clear that a new proposed rule will be unveiled next month, and will likely include significant changes to the existing reporting regime:

No later than March 21, 2025, FinCEN intends to issue an interim final rule that extends BOI reporting deadlines, recognizing the need to provide new guidance and clarity as quickly as possible, while ensuring that BOI that is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities is reported.

FinCEN also intends to solicit public comment on potential revisions to existing BOI reporting requirements. FinCEN will consider those comments as part of a notice of proposed rulemaking anticipated to be issued later this year to minimize burden on small businesses while ensuring that BOI is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities, as well to determine what, if any, modifications to the deadlines referenced here should be considered.

The relief is precisely what the Main Street business community requested earlier this month. So hats off to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for recognizing the significant burden the CTA places on millions of law-abiding Americans and for taking swift action.

In the meantime, we look forward to reviewing the proposed regulations and remain hopeful that they will risk-based protocol for enforcement, something we’ve advocated for since Day One.

REMINDER: TIA Launches Online Tool for Reporting Right-to-Repair Issues

The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is proud to announce a significant update to its website, introducing a new tool designed to amplify the voices of shop owners and technicians nationwide. The "Right to Repair - Report Your Issue" form empowers industry professionals to report instances where they face barriers to diagnosing or repairing vehicles, providing critical data to protect the right to repair for all.

With reports increasing of automakers restricting access to both wired (OBD-II) and wirelessly (telematics) generated diagnostic and repair information, TIA aims to document the real-world impacts of these restrictions on businesses, consumers, and the broader economy.

Why the Right-to-Repair Form Matters

The form gathers key information about repair challenges, including:

  • Vehicle specifics: Make, model, and year.
  • Maintenance attempt details: What type of repair was being performed and whether diagnostic codes were accessible.
  • Barriers encountered: Lack of proper tools, unavailable OEM documentation, refusal to sell parts, or required software updates.
  • Current vehicle status: Whether the repair was completed, or the vehicle remains inoperable.

TIA assures users that all submissions will remain confidential, and no identifying personal or business information will be disclosed when case studies are presented on Capitol Hill.

The form is now live and can be accessed at https://www.tireindustry.org/advocacy/right-to-repair-report-your-issue/.