Jon Brodkin - Apr 26, 2023 6:35 pm UTC
Colorado has enacted the nation's first state law guaranteeing farmers a right to repair tractors and other equipment themselves or at independent repair shops. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed the bill yesterday.
"I am proud to sign this important bipartisan legislation that saves hardworking farmers and ranchers time and money on repairs, and supports Colorado's thriving agriculture industry. Farmers and ranchers can lose precious weeks and months when equipment repairs are stalled due to long turnaround times by manufacturers and dealers. This bill will change that," Polis said.
The state House voted 46-14 in favor of the bill on April 11, while the Senate voted 21-12 on March 30. "The legislation advanced through long committee hearings, having been propelled forward mostly by Democrats even though a Republican lawmaker co-sponsored the bill," the Associated Press wrote. "The proposal left some GOP lawmakers stuck between their farming constituents pleading for the ability to repair their equipment and the manufacturers who vehemently opposed it."
The law's requirements are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024. Farm equipment manufacturers will have "to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information (resources), to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's agricultural equipment," according to the legislature's summary of the Consumer Right To Repair Agricultural Equipment bill.
Failing to provide repair resources will be considered a deceptive trade practice under the new Colorado law. "Any new contractual provision or other arrangement that a manufacturer enters into that would remove or limit the manufacturer's obligation to provide resources to independent repair providers and owners is void and unenforceable," the legislative summary said.
Manufacturers must provide the required tools, software, and information at "fair and reasonable terms and costs" to independent repair providers and equipment owners, the Colorado law text says. The terms must not "discourage or disincentivize repairs to be made by an owner or an independent repair provider." Manufacturers also can't impose "substantial" obligations, such as requiring an equipment owner or independent repair provider to "become an authorized repair provider of the manufacturer."
Colorado previously imposed similar requirements on makers of powered wheelchairs. The farmer and rancher law applies to tractors, trailers, combines, sprayers, tillage implements, balers, "other equipment used to plant, cultivate, or harvest agricultural products or to ranch," and to attachments and repair parts.
In January, the American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding on repair rights after "several years of discussions." As a state law, the Colorado requirement is more enforceable than the voluntary memorandum and isn't limited to John Deere equipment. Skeptics of the John Deere agreement say it doesn't provide enough help to farmers and that real laws are still needed.
In response to the Colorado bill, John Deere has said it supports customers' decisions to repair products themselves or use independent repair services but still opposes the state law. "We feel strongly that the legislation in Colorado is unnecessary and will carry unintended consequences that negatively impact our customers," the company has told media outlets. We asked John Deere for more information on the "unintended consequences" and will update this article if we get an answer.
John Deere is facing a class-action lawsuit over its alleged monopolization of repair services. Numerous lawsuits against John Deere were consolidated into a single antitrust case being heard in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In February, the US Department of Justice filed a statement of interest opposing John Deere's attempt to get the case dismissed.
