AG: Federal Auto Data Stance “Put Us In A Really Tricky Position”

Attorney General Andrea Campbell will “fight like hell” to keep a voter-approved automobile data law alive after federal regulators effectively told manufacturers not to comply with it.

Campbell told GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” she was “shocked” by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s intervention into a years-long legal battle with vehicle manufacturers, saying the federal agency had not been in communication with her office before declaring in a court filing that the Massachusetts law could conflicts with federal law.

While Campbell said she wants to enforce the measure that voters approved in 2020 with 75 percent support, the final decision on whether it stands will fall to U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock.

“Should we allow a letter where there is no process [to] preempt a state law that was legally passed by millions of voters? I think the answer is no, so we’re going to fight like hell to protect consumers,” Campbell said Tuesday.

The initiative petition aimed to expand the state’s “right to repair” law by requiring automobile manufacturers to provide owners and independent shops with access to vehicle telematic maintenance and repair data.

NHTSA in July 2020 wrote to lawmakers warning that the proposal “may potentially pose an unreasonable risk to safety” because it required remote vehicle access. Nearly three years later, it told manufacturers their safety obligations under federal law — which should be given priority — do not align with the new Massachusetts law.

“They have put us in a really tricky position, and what’s really frustrating is they did it without calling us, without engaging us,” Campbell said.