A Florida bill that would guarantee consumers the right to request information from their wheelchair manufacturer for repairs cleared a Florida House committee last week, formally reviving an effort initiated by state Rep. Anna Eskamani earlier this year.
The bill (HB 487) passed the House Industries & Professional Activities subcommittee last Thursday in a unanimous vote of 12–0 in favor. The vote was a rare show of bipartisan support in a Republican-dominated legislature where bills sponsored by Democrats are frequently ignored.
Eskamani’s proposal seeks to prevent mobility device manufacturers, including wheelchair manufacturers, from withholding information or replacement parts that consumers need to fix their devices. There is no federal or state law preventing wheelchair manufacturers from restricting access to software, manuals, proprietary parts or tools that a consumer would need in order to fix a malfunctioning device.
“Right now, when it comes to mobility devices in this country, it’s a monopoly structure. It’s very difficult to get your wheelchair fixed,” Rep. Eskamani explained to members of the House subcommittee. Currently, two private equity-owned manufacturers, Numotion and National Seating & Mobility, essentially have a duopoly over the powered wheelchair market, restricting consumers’ options for purchasing and repairing wheelchairs.
A 2022 survey from PIRG, a consumer advocacy group, found that 62 percent of wheelchair users wait four weeks or more for wheelchair repairs on average, while 40 percent of respondents said the average wait for repair takes seven or more weeks.
Advocates for “right to repair” legislation argue that consumers should have the right to repair their own devices themselves, or to at least be able to go to a third-party repair provider for fixes.
“All this bill does is, it opens up the ability to repair your device,” Eskamani told her colleagues. “If there’s a manual that you need, or equipment that you need, or a special screwdriver you need, the manufacturer can’t hold that hostage. It has make it available to you.”
The bill would not require manufacturers to disclose trade secrets, nor would manufacturers be held liable for any damage or injuries caused by any botched repair jobs made by an independent repair provider.
Second time’s the charm?
This proposal is similar to legislation Eskamani sponsored earlier this year that unanimously passed the Florida House before stalling in the Senate. With the 2026 legislative session fast approaching in January, Rep. Eskamani refiled similar, but broader legislation this year that would apply to all mobility devices, including but not limited to powered wheelchairs.
“We made this decision based on feedback from other members and from the community at large,” Eskamani explained to Orlando Weekly in a phone call. Under the proposal, “mobility device” is defined as “equipment designed for people with a mobility disability, including power wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and power assist devices for manual wheelchairs.”
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According to a legislative staff analysis, about 14 percent of Florida residents report having a disability, most commonly a mobility disability. “Studies also indicate that the use of mobility devices like wheelchairs provides independence to users who may otherwise have difficulty with physical functioning,” the analysis reads, citing a 2016 research article published in the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
For disability rights advocates like Laura Minutello, a public policy analyst and powered wheelchair user with Disability Rights Florida, having access to timely repairs is both protective and a matter of basic dignity.
“There is a control box on my own chair hanging down by a single wire,” Minutello shared during public testimony on similar legislation earlier this year. “If that were to break today, I maybe would not only be unable to talk to you today, but maybe unable to talk to you for a week, maybe not appear before you for the entirety of session.”
Similar right to repair legislation has already been approved by state lawmakers in at least six states across the U.S., according to Mother Jones, including California, Maryland, Colorado, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. The movement for right to repair has extended to legislation calling for similar access to information for farming equipment, electronics and medical devices, such as ventilators.
For Eskamani, her bill aims to give consumers choice, lower their costs by giving them access to other options for repairs, and generate opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs to enter the repair industry. “In this environment where we’re losing jobs to AI, and we’re seeing, of course, costs go up for everyone, often because of monopoly structures, the more that we can do to dismantle those monopolies and to create competition, the better,” she said.
Her bill has already secured additional co-sponsors, including Republican Rep. Susan Valdés of Tampa, a former Democrat who switched parties late last year.
State Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, filed his own version of Eskamani’s bill (SB 586) for consideration by the Florida Senate. The legislation would need to be approved by majorities in both chambers in order to pass. The 2026 legislative session officially begins Jan. 13 and is scheduled to last 60 days through March 13, 2026.
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