New Texas laws expand repair rights, regulate solar sellers and recognize gold as money - Denton Record-Chronicle

The biggest shift for everyday consumers is House Bill 2963, the state's new right-to-repair law for digital electronic equipment. It requires manufacturers to give owners and independent repair shops access to the same parts, tools, and documentation available to authorized service centers, on fair and reasonable terms. That matters in Lubbock, where the nearest Apple Store is hours away and plenty of people have been forced to either mail in a broken device or pay a premium at a limited-option shop.

The second law tightens oversight of residential solar sellers, a market that has drawn repeated complaints from homeowners across Texas who signed contracts after high-pressure doorstep pitches. The third recognizes gold and silver as legal tender, meaning certain forms of precious metals can be used in transactions under state law.

Independent repair businesses on 19th Street or anywhere else in town can now legally demand the same materials that big-box authorized shops have always received from manufacturers. It's a concrete change for a city where authorized service options have long been thin.

Texas joins a growing number of states that have passed right-to-repair legislation, a movement that manufacturers spent years and significant lobbying money trying to block.