This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Two bills aimed at establishing a "right to repair" — one for devices with digital components, the other for farm equipment — failed without a hearing this year.
The bills were proposed in response to increasingly difficult equipment repairs, as software and complicated circuitry have become commonplace. Instead of having to make expensive replacements, pay a big fee to a certified repair technician or face being locked out of digital devices, consumers want the ability to repair their devices and equipment at a lower cost.
Del. Jackie Glass (D–Norfolk) heard about the issue through a news story and immediately saw the impact on her constituents.
"Manufacturers or companies were ensuring that you had to buy new things, that you couldn't fix your own things," Glass told VPM News.
Her bill would have required equipment manufacturers to provide tools, parts and documentation to owners and "independent repair providers" unaffiliated with the manufacturer.
Similar bills have been introduced in every state legislature, according to tech news site 404 Media. But only a handful have actually passed. Now, for the second year running, Virginia has rejected the proposal due to an inability for all stakeholders to reach an agreement over the balance between access to information and protection of intellectual property.
There are lots of interested stakeholders; Glass said she'd discussed the measure with broadband providers, auto manufacturers, agriculture and maritime companies, cell phone companies and more. Many of those companies sought exemptions from the bill — some for good reason, according to Glass.
"We don't want people fixing their own medical equipment — I overstand that," Glass said. "But to say, 'No, we just want to give people new stuff' — OK, there's a circular economy here that we need to think about. We need to think about electronic waste as well."
She said the bill could reduce the need for more landfills, and hoped it would help reinstate a culture of do-it-yourself repair in an age when so many things are disposable.
Repair Cafe RVA, an effort to do exactly that in the state's capital city, has seen success in its first year. Organizers reported 2,385 pounds of would-be waste got a second life after being repaired at Repair Cafe events; the top items repaired included sewing machines, pants, jewelry and bicycles.
Glass said she hoped her bill would expand the list of things that can reasonably be repaired by a layperson.
Glass's bill — along with Del. Lily Franklin's (D–Montgomery) HB1324, which is specifically targeted at farm equipment — died in quick succession, with little discussion, in a meeting of a House Labor and Commerce subcommittee. But Franklin's bill was carried over to the 2027 session, indicating lawmakers are interested in taking another look at it next year.
Copyright 2026 VPM