Andrew Powell
The Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously advanced a measure that would require manufacturers to more freely provide access to tools, manuals and parts needed to repair certain agriculture and portable wireless device equipment.
Tavares Republican Sen. Keith Truenow presented the bill (SB 1132). It would require manufacturers to make that information available to owners of devices and to independent repair shops in order to make repairs more accessible.
The legislation also restricts manufacturers from requiring independent repair providers or other third-party providers to sign long-term agreements to buy proprietary repair tools that are standardized with other manufacturers, “unless such proprietary format includes diagnostic, service, repair, or dealership operations information or functionality that is not available in such standardized format.”
Truenow explained that the legislation seeks to foster independence in equipment repair, reduce the reliance on authorized repair providers and promote competition to ultimately save consumers money.
“SB 1132 seeks to empower consumers and independent repair shops within the portable digital and agricultural equipment space, by ensuring they have the resources needed to repair such equipment, thereby promoting competition,” Truenow said. “The bill establishes this act to ensure that customers have more control over repair and maintenance of their portable, wireless devices.”
Truenow noted that the bill would also clarify that manufacturers are not required to disclose trade secrets, except when necessary to provide mandated documentation on things like parts and tools.
“There’s a lot to unpack on this bill, but the real need here is to find ways to make it more efficient and give a little bit more help to these folks that purchase these products and getting them repaired,” Truenow said.
The committee voted 5-0 Tuesday to move the bill forward. But Katie Kelly, Executive Director of TechNet, opposed the measure and explained that much of what is in the bill is already being done in practice.
“If you’re a user of an independent repair shop, you can already purchase the parts, the tools and the manuals, as Apple or Samsung provide to their authorized provider,” Kelly said.
Kelly added that other states have already adopted similar legislation and as a result, many companies have already implemented requirements across the board, not just in their respective states.
“This law has passed in several states such as California, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, Oregon. I know four of these companies are already adhering to the requirements in the bill,” Kelly said. “They don’t just do something for Oregon and not do it for the rest of the country. So that is another thing I wanted to bring to your attention.”
Dan Inglima, corporate parts and service manager from Everglades Equipment Group, also opposed the bill and said it can pose a safety risk.
“Everglades has been a John Deere dealer for over 62 years,” Inglima said. “We support the right to repair, we strongly oppose the right to modify, and that’s what we really feel this bill’s about. I have concerns about the right to repair in legislation. It’s misrepresenting. … It’s not really repair focused.”
Inglima also said the legislation was unneeded because the resources are already available to customers online and all dealerships.
“It forces manufacturers and dealers like us to sell repair parts at cost, damaging the existing dealer-manufacturer relationships,” Inglima said. “This legislation really is unnecessary. Farmers, government agencies, construction companies and independent repair houses already have extensive repair resources available.”
“All the major players are already playing in this game of providing this diagnostic software, for farmers, construction companies, government agencies, and all these folks to repair their own equipment,” he added.
Because of the federal Clean Air Act, dealers have to repair equipment to a certain standard and can be penalized for noncompliance, according to Inglima, who then cited safety concerns.
“We have to protect ourselves as the dealer. We face massive fines if we don’t repair equipment to an emissions standard — $44,000 per day, per occurrence,” Inglima said.
“Consumers could also face fines for that too through the EPA. The risk of allowing equipment modification is serious. You could compromise public safety and cybersecurity by granting untrained individuals access to autonomous equipment. We have autonomous tractors today running without operators in South Florida, I don’t know if you want just anybody messing with that embedded software within that tractor.”
Bradenton Republican Majority Sen. Jim Boyd supported the bill’s passage and said that he trusts that Truenow would take the various issues into consideration.
“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I think this is an issue we’ve seen before and from my perspective, it’s an issue worth talking about,” Boyd told Truenow. “I know you’re a guy that tries to work out compromise and agreement on issues. So, I’m in support today, trusting that you’re going to work on the differences that have been illuminated today and see if we can’t come to some common ground.”
In closing Truenow thanked all those who attended and voiced their concerns but noted that regulation has “depressed” the agriculture industry.
“We’re just trying to find a balance in everything. How did we get to this point? All the layers of regulation, and the things that depress the agricultural market in the state of Florida or the United States overall,” Truenow said. “It’s concerning. Again, we’re losing ground every day and we’re losing it because those costs affect the Florida farmer in a way that’s not sustainable.”
Truenow pointed out that if people are unable to afford to repair their equipment, they won’t be able to produce, noting that the Legislature has a responsibility to preserve Florida’s culture.
“At the end of the day, if we can’t pay for that equipment, and we can’t pay for the other costs that go into producing that product,” Truenow said, “then we lose and then we reach a tipping point that ag is not sustainable and the next best thing to do is to sell for development or lose it. I think we have a cultural responsibility in preserving our culture in the state of Florida.”
The bill will now move to the Senate Rules Committee.
