SB 148

This bill requires agricultural equipment manufacturers to upon request make available to agricultural equipment owners and independent service providers any documentation, data, embedded software, firmware, parts, or tools that are intended for use with agricultural equipment, at certain fair costs and fair terms as articulated in the bill. “Equipment” is defined in the bill to include equipment or parts that are designed primarily for use in the operation of a farm or in farm-related activities, including any combine, tractor, sprayer, implement, or attachment used in planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting, or ranching, but not including vehicles or self-propelled machines designed primarily for the transportation of persons or property on a street or highway, aircraft, snowmobiles, personal watercraft or motorboats, or equipment or parts used for irrigation purposes. “Data” is defined in the bill to mean information that a manufacturer gathered, transmitted, or compiled that arose from the operation of an owner’s equipment and for which the associated owner has provided consent and authorization for the manufacturer to share.

The bill generally does not require manufacturers to provide documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools that would require a manufacturer to divulge a trade secret. The bill exempts manufacturers and equipment dealers from liability stemming from an owner’s or independent repair provider’s faulty or otherwise improper repair that causes damage or loss of use of equipment, and exempts manufacturers from liability for an action resulting from a person’s use or reliance upon data that the manufacturer provided to a person.