Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1852 3
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By: Representative J. Moore 5
By: Senator Stone 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING AGRICULTURAL 9
EQUIPMENT; TO ESTABLISH A RIGHT TO REPAIR FOR CERTAIN 10
AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 11
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Subtitle 14
TO ESTABLISH A RIGHT TO REPAIR FOR 15
CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT. 16
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 18
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 4, Chapter 96, is amended to add an 20
additional subchapter to read as follows: 21
Subchapter 4 — Right to Repair 22
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4-96-401. Legislative intent. 24
It is the intent of the General Assembly to: 25
(1) Continue to enhance the ability of farmers to timely control 26
the lawful operation and upkeep of agricultural equipment; 27
(2) Assure the timely availability, on fair and reasonable 28
terms, of tools, specialty tools, software, and documentation originating 29
from a manufacturer and data from the operation of agricultural equipment 30
originating from a manufacturer; 31
(3) Assure that no safety controls or protocols on agricultural 32
equipment are compromised through the modification of protective measures 33
installed for the benefit of agricultural equipment owners, operators, and 34
bystanders; 35
(4) Assure that the intellectual property of a manufacturer, 36 HB1852
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including copyrighted software, is fully protected from illegal infringement 1
through the modification of embedded software; and 2
(5) Assure that compliance with federal and state emissions 3
control requirements is not compromised through changes to power ratings or 4
other modification of control measures installed for the purpose of complying 5
with the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 6
2025, and other environmental laws and regulations. 7
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4-96-402. Definitions. 9
As used in this subchapter: 10
(1)(A) "Agricultural equipment" means a product originating from 11
a manufacturer when sold or leased for use in farming or other forms of 12
agriculture that depends for its functioning, in whole or in part, on digital 13
electronics embedded in or attached to it. 14
(B) "Agricultural equipment" includes without limitation 15
the following pieces of equipment: 16
(i) A tractor; 17
(ii) A combine; 18
(iii) Harvesting equipment; 19
(iv) Tillage equipment; 20
(v) Planting, irrigation, or cultivating implements; 21
(vi) A baler; and 22
(vii) Other off-road vehicles primarily designed for 23
use in an agricultural operation. 24
(C) "Agricultural equipment" does not include motor 25
vehicles designed and sold primarily for passenger or property transportation 26
on public roadways; 27
(2) "Authorized repair facility" means an individual or 28
business: 29
(A) That has an arrangement for a definite or indefinite 30
period with a manufacturer under which the manufacturer grants to the 31
individual or business a permission, license, or franchise to use a trade 32
name, service mark, or related characteristic for the purposes of offering 33
diagnosis, repair, or maintenance services of agricultural equipment under 34
the name of or on behalf of the manufacturer; or 35
(B) That is otherwise utilized by the manufacturer to 36 HB1852
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provide repair or maintenance services on agricultural equipment; 1
(3) "Code" means: 2
(A) Human or machine -readable information related to a 3
performance issue arising from the operation of a farmer's agricultural 4
equipment; or 5
(B) Information necessary to be transmitted to a farmer's 6
agricultural equipment to maintain, repair, or activate the agricultural 7
equipment or a part of the agricultural equipment; 8
(4) "Data" means transmitted or compiled information arising 9
from the operation of a farmer's agricultural equipment or parts of the 10
agricultural equipment; 11
(5) "Documentation" means a manual, diagram, reporting output, 12
service code description, schematic, or other guidance or information used in 13
affecting the services of diagnosis, maintenance, repair, or upgrade of 14
agricultural equipment; 15
(6)(A) "Embedded software" means programmable instructions 16
provided on firmware delivered with or loaded to the agricultural equipment, 17
with respect to agricultural equipment operation, including all relevant 18
patches and fixes made by the manufacturer including without limitation: 19
(i) Basic internal operating system; 20
(ii) Internal operating system; 21
(iii) Machine code; 22
(iv) Assembly code; 23
(v) Root code; and 24
(vi) Microcode. 25
(B) "Embedded software" includes a software program or set 26
of instructions programmed on agricultural equipment or on a part of the 27
agricultural equipment to allow the agricultural equipment or part of the 28
agricultural equipment to communicate within the agricultural equipment or 29
with other computer hardware; 30
(7)(A) "Fair and reasonable" means equitable terms for access to 31
or receipt of an item pertaining to agricultural equipment, including any 32
tools, specialty tools, software, and documentation. 33
(B) "Fair and reasonable" includes a consideration of 34
relevant factors, including without limitation the manufacturer's suggested 35
retail price and the distribution model of a respective item; 36 HB1852
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(8) "Farmer" means: 1
(A) An individual or business engaged in agriculture as a 2
means of livelihood or commerce, including without limitation the production 3
of crops, livestock, or aquaculture, excluding recreational fishing; and 4
(B) That owns or leases agricultural equipment; 5
(9) "Independent repair facility" means an individual or 6
business that is not affiliated with an authorized repair facility or a 7
manufacturer with respect to agricultural equipment but is: 8
(A) Engaged in diagnosing, maintaining, or repairing 9
agricultural equipment generally; and 10
(B) Is willing and capable of repairing agricultural 11
equipment if provided access to tools, specialty tools, software, and 12
documentation regarding the agricultural equipment, whether or not the 13
individual or business is a farmer; 14
(10) "Manufacturer" means an entity engaged in the business of 15
selling, leasing, or otherwise supplying new agricultural equipment 16
manufactured by or on behalf of the manufacturer to an individual or a 17
business; 18
(11) "Specialty tool" means a mechanical implement originating 19
from a manufacturer that is necessary for facilitation of mechanical or 20
electronic maintenance, repair, or upgrade of the manufacturer's agricultural 21
equipment that is not generally available other than from the manufacturer's 22
authorized repair facilities; and 23
(12)(A) "Tool" means software, a hardware implement, a specialty 24
hardware implement, or other apparatus originating from the manufacturer used 25
for data readout, diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural 26
equipment. 27
(B) "Tool" includes without limitation software or other 28
mechanisms that calibrate functionality or perform any other function 29
required to operate, maintain, upgrade, activate, or bring the agricultural 30
equipment back to a fully functional condition. 31
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4-96-403. Manufacturer obligations. 33
(a) A manufacturer shall ensure that a farmer, a farmer's staff 34
member, or an independent technician assisting a farmer at the farmer's 35
request, and an independent repair facility: 36 HB1852
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(1) Has electronic access on fair and reasonable terms to the 1
manufacturer's tools, specialty tools, software, and documentation, including 2
without limitation: 3
(A) Manuals related to operation, parts, and service; 4
(B) Product service demonstrations, training, seminars, or 5
clinics; 6
(C) On-board diagnostics via a diagnostics port or 7
wireless interface; and 8
(D) Other publications with information on operation, 9
parts, service, and safety; 10
(2) Has access to obtain, per subscription or sale, 11
manufacturer's tools, specialty tools, software, and documentation from the 12
manufacturer or from an authorized repair facility on fair and reasonable 13
terms; 14
(3) Has electronic access on fair and reasonable terms to 15
manufacturer's codes and data; and 16
(4) Makes available, with a farmer's authorization, codes and 17
data to the farmer's selected independent repair facility. 18
(b) This subchapter does not require a manufacturer to: 19
(1) Divulge trade secrets, proprietary information, or 20
confidential information; 21
(2) Allow owners or independent repair facilities to override 22
safety features or emissions controls or to adjust agricultural equipment 23
power levels; or 24
(3) Violate any federal, state, or local laws or regulations. 25
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4-96-404. Provision to farmers on fair and reasonable basis. 27
(a)(1) If a manufacturer provides to an authorized repair facility a 28
tool, specialty tool, software, or documentation for functions listed in § 4 -29
96-403(a)(1) separately or as fully or partially integrated software, the 30
manufacturer shall ensure that the tool, specialty tool, software, and 31
documentation are available to a farmer on a fair and reasonable basis. 32
(2) Subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall apply whether the: 33
(A) Tool, as part of software or otherwise, or specialty 34
tool is purchased, leased, or subscribed to; or 35
(B) Fulfillment is made directly by the manufacturer or an 36 HB1852
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authorized repair facility. 1
(b) When a manufacturer receives a code or real -time data with respect 2
to the in-field operation of a farmer's agricultural equipment, the 3
manufacturer shall ensure that the code or data is also available to the 4
farmer using the agricultural equipment. 5
(c) Subject to the limitations of § 4 -96-403(b), a manufacturer shall 6
make available on fair and reasonable terms to a farmer that owns or leases 7
agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of the manufacturer the 8
tools, specialty tools, software, and documentation, inclusive of any updates 9
to information or embedded software, for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair 10
purposes of the agricultural equipment. 11
(d) For agricultural equipment that contains an electronic lock, 12
immobilizer, or other security -related function, subject to the limitations 13
of § 4-96-403(b), a manufacturer shall make available to the farmer on fair 14
and reasonable terms any special documentation and tools needed to: 15
(1) Disable the lock, immobilizer, or other security -related 16
function; and 17
(2) Reset the lock when disabled in the ordinary course of 18
diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the agricultural equipment. 19
(e) To the extent practicable and as a manufacturer deems secure, 20
subject to the limitations of § 4 -96-403(b), tools, specialty tools, 21
software, and documentation shall be provided on a remote, immediate basis, 22
whether delivery is made from the manufacturer or through an authorized 23
repair facility. 24
(f) A manufacturer shall provide a farmer and an independent repair 25
facility with an opportunity on fair and reasonable terms to acquire any 26
software integrally with or within a tool or subsequently as necessary for 27
the operation, maintenance, repair, or upgrade of the agricultural equipment 28
or a mechanical part of the agricultural equipment. 29
(g) A manufacturer is not required to sell tools, specialty tools, 30
software, or documentation if the tools, specialty tools, software, or 31
documentation are no longer available to the manufacturer or the authorized 32
repair facility of the manufacturer. 33
(h)(1) A manufacturer shall not prevent a farmer or independent repair 34
facility from legally fabricating or otherwise obtaining tools, specialty 35
tools, software, or documentation from a third party, whether or not the 36 HB1852
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tools, specialty tools, software, or documentation are currently available 1
from the manufacturer or an authorized repair facility, for use solely in the 2
ordinary course of his or her own lawful businesses and not for resale or 3
distribution. 4
(2) Subdivision (h)(1) of this section does not prevent or 5
preclude a manufacturer from pursuing an action to enforce a trademark, 6
copyright, or other claim of infringement regarding the manufacturer's 7
intellectual property. 8
(i) If an independent repair facility requests that a manufacturer 9
provide any tools, specialty tools, software, or documentation as provided to 10
farmers under subsections (a) —(h) of this section, or if a farmer makes a 11
request in connection with his or her own agricultural equipment, the 12
manufacturer shall provide the tools, specialty tools, software, or 13
documentation on fair and reasonable terms with respect to the independent 14
repair facility. 15
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