Gabrielle Russon
A bill protecting consumers’ right to repair certain wireless techology and agriculture equipment advanced a Senate committee Tuesday despite some opposition arguing against the need for reform.
“This does put the consumer in control of their own destiny, so to speak,” said bill sponsor Keith Truenow, the Tavares Republican who runs a commercial farm, as he advocated for his legislation during the Senate Rules Committee hearing. “It’s not against the manufacturer, but it allows us to have those choices at our fingertips,
With a vote of 19-5, the committee backed SB 1132 that would require manufacturers to more freely provide access to tools, manuals and parts needed to repair certain agriculture and portable wireless device equipment. The bill is now ready for a House floor vote.
“This is not a regulation bill. This bill actually is a deregulation bill,” said. Sen. Jennifer Bradley. “It allows owners of agricultural equipment, who will often spend $1 million or more on a piece of equipment, to have access to the information they need to be able to repair and maintain their equipment. And I think this is a great bill that will help ag and a lot of our farmers across the state, who often have to wait a long period of time to have someone come out just to change a sparkplug in their own machine.”
Not everyone agreed the bill is a good thing.
Turner Loesel, a policy analyst for the conservative think tank James Madison Institute, argued there’s no need for the bill in a free market since major manufacturers are already offered self-repair programs to help consumers get parts, tools and instructions.
“I therefore respectfully urge the committee to recognize the effectiveness of existing market solutions and reconsider whether this legislation addresses a genuine market failure or simply imposes unnecessary regulation on a functioning marketplace,” Loesel said.
Jackie Fleetwood, the general manager for Tidewater Equipment Company, warned the bill could be detrimental to his business.
“If parts are made available to independent providers at dealer costs, this could result in the loss of dealerships,” Fleetwood said of the company, which sells agriculture, forestry and construction equipment.
And Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo added he wasn’t convinced about the so-called “right to repair movement”, saying, “I haven’t seen anyone up here talking about how it’s hindering their business, how they don’t have access to these things.”
“Today, I’m a no.”
