Call to Action: Time to Fight for Our Rights! – UPDATE: WE WON!

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UPDATE on SB 5680 – Washington's Wheelchair Right to Repair bill PASSED UNANIMOUSLY with a 95-0 vote! A stunning turnaround after barely making it out of committee 8-7 last week!

It was all fueled by a collective effort from a handful of like-minded individuals who believed in making change.

HUGE shout out to lifelong activist Marsha Cutting for lighting the fire over a year ago, Heather Trim of Zero Waste Washington for fanning the flames from the get-go, and Matthew Clark for providing some poignant advocacy that convinced naysayers to flip their votes. (Check out the video here: https://bit.ly/3G7qBcc)

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort!

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***Original Post***

Last Wednesday, a group of more than a dozen wheelers descended on the state capital to show our support for a statewide Wheelchair Right to Repair. If our elected leaders in Olympia pass the Wheelchair Right to Repair bill, SB 5680, it would require manufacturers to give us direct access to the proper parts, tools, and information necessary to finally allow all of us the choice to fix and maintain our own wheelchairs.  

What Can YOU Do?

To secure the right to repair our own chairs, we need our representatives in the Washington State House to pass SB 5680 without any restrictive amendments - and to do that, they need to hear from us! You can help make sure your representatives vote YES to this bill and NO to adding restrictions before the legislative cutoff date on Wednesday, April 16th.

• Click this link to tell your story to your local legislators

• If you use a wheelchair, be sure to let them know right in the first sentence! If you use the form letter at the link, add “As a wheelchair user who would be directly impacted by this bill- ”

• Tell them how important it is to have the option, access, and ability to repair your own device(s), and why they should support SB 5680.

It seems like every week we hear stories of our members struggling to get both minor and major repairs on our equipment. SB 5680 would give us the pivotal option to bypass understaffed DME providers whose schedules can leave our people waiting for repairs at the expense of our health, stranded at home, or even bed-bound. That’s why Here and Now member Marsha Cutting, inspired by advocates’ success in Colorado establishing a first-of-its-kind Wheelchair Right to Repair in 2022, reached out to her own local state representative, Rep Mia Gregerson, to create SB 5680. Together, they have led the push to establish this fundamental right for people with disabilities in Washington. And the good news is that the State Senate already passed the bill unanimously. Now all that’s left between us and the right to repair our own wheelchairs is the House.

Last week, their bill was narrowly approved by the House Committee on Consumer Protection & Business on a tight vote (8 to 7). Opposing legislators say they are “looking to put some guardrails into this bill” under misguided “strong concerns about our most complex patients,” including people with “spinal cord injuries, Spinal Bifida, and other disease states.” requiring wheelchair users like us no options other than to use the same overstretched DME providers to perform repairs on critical components.

Thankfully, members of our community have already begun reaching out to their legislators, and we have a particularly vocal champion in Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos (District 37) who spoke with Here & Now member Matthew Clark. Her impassioned speech about preserving the dignity and rights of a wheelchair using family member managed to sway just enough votes:

“I think what we have to recognize is that it is the right of the users of those mobility devices to ultimately, because they know their bodies, to make the decision that is in their best interest…People who rely on mobility devices…ought not to have that mobility impaired at the mercy of shipping schedules or availability of adjustment appointments…why have that person delayed in living their life?” – Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos

YOU Can Help Us Gain the Right to Repair!

To secure the right to repair our own chairs, we need our representatives in the Washington State House to pass SB 5680 without any restrictive amendments - and to do that, they need to hear from us! You can help make sure your representatives vote YES to this bill and NO to adding restrictions before the legislative cutoff date on Wednesday, April 16th.

• Click the link below to tell your story to your local legislators

• If you use a wheelchair, be sure to let them know right in the first sentence! If you use the form letter at the link, add “As a wheelchair user who would be directly impacted by this bill- ”

• Tell them how important it is to have the option, access, and ability to repair your own device(s), and why they should support SB 5680.

Tell Your Story to Legislators

This is a pivotal moment for wheelchair users across Washington state. Every call, every email, every story shared brings us one step closer to securing our right to independence through the simple act of being able to repair our own mobility equipment. Your voice matters in this fight. Let's make our voices heard before April 16th and ensure SB 5680 becomes law—without compromises! See you guys