An act relating to fair repair of agricultural equipment

BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 1 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 H.81 1 Introduced by Representatives Donahue of Northfield, Sims of Craftsbury, 2 Andriano of Orwell, Anthony of Barre City, Birong of 3 Vergennes, Boyden of Cambridge, Branagan of Georgia, 4 Brumsted of Shelburne, Burrows of West Windsor, Demrow of 5 Corinth, Dolan of Waitsfield, Farlice-Rubio of Barnet, Galfetti 6 of Barre Town, Higley of Lowell, Labor of Morgan, LaBounty 7 of Lyndon, Masland of Thetford, McGill of Bridport, Morris of 8 Springfield, Mulvaney-Stanak of Burlington, Nicoll of Ludlow, 9 Noyes of Wolcott, Pajala of Londonderry, Priestley of Bradford, 10 Sibilia of Dover, Surprenant of Barnard, Taylor of Milton, 11 Templeman of Brownington, White of Bethel, Williams of 12 Barre City, and Williams of Granby 13 Referred to Committee on 14 Date: 15 Subject: Commerce and trade; consumer protection 16 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to ensure the fair 17 repair of agricultural equipment. 18 An act relating to fair repair of agricultural equipment 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 2 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1 Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 2 This act may be cited as the Fair Repair Act. 3 Sec. 2. 9 V.S.A. chapter 106 is added to read: 4 CHAPTER 106. AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT; FAIR REPAIR 5 § 4051. DEFINITIONS 6 As used in this chapter: 7 (1) “Agricultural equipment” means a device, part of a device, or an 8 attachment to a device designed to be used principally for an agricultural 9 purpose, including a tractor, trailer, or combine; implements for tillage, 10 planting, or cultivation; and other equipment associated with livestock or crop 11 production, horticulture, or floriculture. 12 (2) “Authorized repair provider” means an individual or business that 13 has an arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer under which the 14 original equipment manufacturer grants to the individual or business a license 15 to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier for the 16 purposes of offering the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of 17 equipment under the name of the original equipment manufacturer or other 18 arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer to offer such services 19 on behalf of the original equipment manufacturer. An original equipment 20 manufacturer that offers the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of its 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 3 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 own equipment and that does not have an arrangement described in this 1 subdivision with an unaffiliated individual or business shall be considered an 2 authorized repair provider with respect to such equipment. 3 (3) “Documentation” means any manual, diagram, reporting output, 4 service code description, schematic diagram, security code, password, or other 5 guidance or information used in effecting the services of diagnosis, 6 maintenance, or repair of agricultural or forestry equipment. 7 (4) “Fair and reasonable terms” with respect to a part, tool, software, or 8 documentation offered by an original equipment manufacturer, means the 9 following: 10 (A) For parts: 11 (i) Costs are fair to both parties, considering the agreed-upon 12 conditions, promised quality, and timeliness of delivery. Fair and reasonable 13 costs are subject to statutory and regulatory limitations. 14 (ii) Terms: 15 (I) do not impose on an owner or an independent repair 16 provider any substantial obligation to use or any restriction on the use of the 17 part to diagnose, maintain, or repair equipment sold, leased, or otherwise 18 supplied by the original farm equipment manufacturer, including a condition 19 that the owner or independent repair provider become an authorized repair 20 provider of the original equipment manufacturer, or a requirement that a part 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 4 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 be registered, paired with, or approved by the original equipment manufacturer 1 or an authorized repair provider before such part is operational; and 2 (II) prohibit an original equipment manufacturer from imposing 3 any additional cost or burden that is not reasonably necessary or is designed to 4 be an impediment on the owner or independent repair provider. 5 (B) For tools and documentation: 6 (i) Costs are equivalent to the lowest actual cost for which the 7 original equipment manufacturer offers the tool, software, or documentation to 8 an authorized repair provider, including any discount, rebate, or other financial 9 incentive offered to an authorized repair provider. 10 (ii) Terms: 11 (I) are equivalent to the most favorable terms under which an 12 original equipment manufacturer offers the part, tool, software, or 13 documentation to an authorized repair provider, including the methods and 14 timeliness of delivery of the part, tool, software, or documentation; 15 (II) do not impose on an owner or an independent repair 16 provider any substantial obligation to use or any restriction on the use of the 17 tool, software, or documentation to diagnose, maintain, or repair equipment 18 sold, leased, or otherwise supplied by the original equipment manufacturer, 19 including a condition that the owner or independent repair provider become an 20 authorized repair provider of the original equipment manufacturer, or a 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 5 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 requirement that a tool be registered, paired with, or approved by the original 1 equipment manufacturer or an authorized repair provider before such part or 2 tool is operational; and 3 (III) prohibit an original equipment manufacturer from 4 imposing any additional cost or burden that is not reasonably necessary or is 5 designed to be an impediment on the owner or independent repair provider. 6 (C) For documentation, the documentation is made available by the 7 original equipment manufacturer at no charge, except that, when the 8 documentation is requested in physical printed form, a charge may be included 9 for the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending the copy. 10 (5) “Forestry equipment” means nondivisible equipment, implements, 11 accessories, and contrivances used directly and principally in cutting or 12 removing timber or other sold wood forest products, including equipment used 13 to construct, maintain, or install infrastructure necessary to and associated with 14 a logging operation. 15 (6) “Independent repair provider” means a person operating in this State, 16 that does not have an arrangement described in subdivision (2) of this section 17 with an original equipment manufacturer, and that is engaged in the services of 18 diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural or forestry equipment. 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 6 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 (7) “Original equipment manufacturer” means a person engaged in the 1 business of selling, leasing, or otherwise supplying new agricultural or forestry 2 equipment manufactured by or on behalf of itself to any individual or business. 3 (8) “Owner” means an individual or business that owns or leases 4 agricultural or forestry equipment purchased or used in this State. 5 (9) “Part” means any replacement part, either new or used, made 6 available by an original equipment manufacturer for purposes of effecting the 7 services of maintenance or repair of agricultural or forestry equipment 8 manufactured by or on behalf of, sold or otherwise supplied by, the original 9 equipment manufacturer. 10 (10) “Tools” means any software program, hardware implement, or 11 other apparatus used for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural or 12 forestry equipment, including software or other mechanisms that provision, 13 program, or pair a new part, calibrate functionality, or perform any other 14 function required to bring the product back to fully functional condition, 15 including any updates. 16 (11) “Trade secret” has the same meaning as in 9 V.S.A. § 4601. 17 § 4052. REQUIREMENTS. 18 (a) For agricultural or forestry equipment, and parts for such equipment, 19 sold or used in this State, an original equipment manufacturer shall make 20 available, for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of such equipment, 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 7 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 to any independent repair provider, or to the owner of electronics-enabled 1 agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, or sold or otherwise 2 supplied by, the original equipment manufacturer, on fair and reasonable 3 terms, documentation, parts, and tools, required for the diagnosis, maintenance, 4 or repair of such equipment and parts for such equipment, including any 5 updates to information. An original equipment manufacturer shall make the 6 documentation, parts, and tools available either directly or through an 7 authorized repair provider. 8 (b) For equipment that contains an electronic security lock or other 9 security-related function, the original equipment manufacturer shall make 10 available to the owner and to independent repair providers, on fair and 11 reasonable terms, any special documentation, tools, and parts needed to access 12 and reset the lock or function when disabled in the course of diagnosis, 13 maintenance, or repair of the equipment. Such documentation, tools, and parts 14 may be made available by means of an appropriate secure system. 15 § 4053. ENFORCEMENT 16 (a) A person who violates a provision of this chapter commits an unfair and 17 deceptive act in trade and commerce in violation of 9 V.S.A § 2453. 18 (b) The Attorney General has the same authority to make rules, conduct 19 civil investigations, enter into assurances of discontinuance, and bring civil 20 actions as provided in chapter 63, subchapter 1 of this title. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.81 2023 Page 8 of 8 VT LEG #365219 v.1 § 4054. LIMITATION 1 (a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require an original 2 equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade secret to an owner or an 3 independent service provider. 4 (b) No provision in this chapter shall be construed to alter the terms of any 5 arrangement described in subdivision 4151(1) of this section in force between 6 an authorized repair provider and an original equipment manufacturer, 7 including the performance or provision of warranty or recall repair work by an 8 authorized repair provider on behalf of an original equipment manufacturer 9 pursuant to such arrangement, except that any provision in such terms that 10 purports to waive, avoid, restrict, or limit the original equipment 11 manufacturer’s obligations to comply with this chapter shall be void and 12 unenforceable. 13 Sec. 3. APPLICABILITY 14 This act applies with respect to equipment sold or in use on or after the 15 effective date of this act. 16 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE 17 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023. 18