HB 1535 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the fair repair of agricultural 2
equipment; providing a short title; creating s. 3
686.35, F.S.; defining terms; requiring original 4
equipment manufacturers of agricultural equipment to 5
make certain manufacturing, diagnostic, and repair 6
information available to independent repair providers 7
and owners; prohibiting the original equipment 8
manufacturers from excluding certain information 9
concerning security-related functions; providing 10
construction and applicability; providing civil 11
liability; providing an effective date. 12
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Agricultural 16
Equipment Fair Repair Act." 17
Section 2. Section 686.35, Florida Statutes, is created to 18
read: 19
686.35 Fair repair of agricultural equipment. — 20
(1) As used in this section, the term: 21
(a) "Authorized repair provider" means an individual or an 22
entity that has an arrangement for a definite or indefinite 23
period in which an original equipment manufacturer grants to a 24
separate individual or entity a license to use a trade name, 25
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service mark, or related characteristic for the purpose of 26
offering repair services under the name of the original 27
equipment manufacturer. 28
(b) "Embedded software" means any programmable 29
instructions provided on firmware delivered with the equipment 30
for the purpose of equipment operation, including all relevant 31
patches and fixes made by the o riginal equipment manufacturer 32
for this purpose. The term includes, but is not limited to, a 33
basic internal operating system, an internal operating system, a 34
machine code, an assembly code, a robot code, or a microcode. 35
(c) "Equipment" means digital elec tronic equipment, or a 36
part for such equipment, which is originally manufactured for 37
farm equipment, including combines, tractors, implements, self -38
propelled equipment, and related attachments and implements, and 39
which is manufactured for distribution and sale in this state. 40
(d) "Fair and reasonable terms" means an equitable price 41
in light of relevant factors, including, but not limited to: 42
1. The net cost to the authorized repair provider for 43
similar information obtained from an original equipment 44
manufacturer, excluding any discounts, rebates, or other 45
incentive programs; 46
2. The cost to the original equipment manufacturer for 47
preparing and distributing the information, excluding any 48
research and development costs incurred in designing and 49
implementing, upgrading, or altering the product, but including 50
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amortized capital costs for the preparation and distribution of 51
the information; 52
3. The price charged by other original equipment 53
manufacturers for similar information; 54
4. The price charged by origin al equipment manufacturers 55
for similar information before the launch of original equipment 56
manufacturer websites; 57
5. The ability of aftermarket technicians or shops to 58
afford the information; 59
6. The means by which the information is distributed; 60
7. The extent to which the information is used, including 61
the number of users and the frequency, duration, and volume of 62
use; and 63
8. Inflation. 64
(e) "Firmware" means a software program or set of 65
instructions programmed on a hardware device to allow the dev ice 66
to communicate with other computer hardware. 67
(f) "Independent repair provider" means a person or 68
business operating in this state which is not affiliated with an 69
original equipment manufacturer or an original equipment 70
manufacturer's authorized repai r provider and which is engaged 71
in the diagnosis, service, maintenance, or repair of equipment. 72
However, an original equipment manufacturer meets the definition 73
of an independent repair provider when such original equipment 74
manufacturer engages in the diag nosis, service, maintenance, or 75
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repair of equipment that is not affiliated with the original 76
equipment manufacturer. 77
(g) "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle that is designed for 78
transporting persons or property on a street or highway and 79
certified by the motor vehicle manufacturer under all applicable 80
federal safety and emissions standards and requirements for 81
distribution and sale in the United States. The term does not 82
include a motorcycle or a recreational vehicle or manufactured 83
home equipped for habita tion. 84
(h) "Motor vehicle dealer" means a person or business 85
that, in the ordinary course of business, is engaged in the 86
selling or leasing of new motor vehicles to a person or business 87
pursuant to a franchise agreement; is engaged in the diagnosis, 88
service, maintenance, or repair of motor vehicles or motor 89
vehicle engines pursuant to such franchise agreement; and has 90
obtained a license under s. 320.27. 91
(i) "Motor vehicle manufacturer" means a person or 92
business engaged in the manufacturing or assembling of new motor 93
vehicles. 94
(j) "Original equipment manufacturer" means a person or 95
business that, in the ordinary course of business, is engaged in 96
the selling or leasing of new equipment to a person or business 97
and is engaged in the diagnosis, service, mai ntenance, or repair 98
of such equipment. 99
(k) "Owner" means a person or business that owns or leases 100
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a digital electronic product purchased or used in this state. 101
(l) "Part" means a replacement part, either new or used, 102
which the original equipment manufa cturer makes available to the 103
authorized repair provider for purposes of effecting repair. 104
(m) "Trade secret" means anything tangible or intangible 105
or electronically stored or kept which constitutes, represents, 106
evidences, or records intellectual propert y, including secret or 107
confidentially held designs, processes, procedures, formulas, 108
inventions, or improvements or secret or confidentially held 109
scientific, technical, merchandising, production, financial, 110
business, or management information. The term als o includes any 111
other trade secret as defined in 18 U.S.C. s. 1839, as such 112
section existed on January 1, 2020. 113
(2) For equipment sold and used in this state, the 114
original equipment manufacturer shall make available diagnostic 115
and repair documentation, in cluding repair technical updates and 116
updates and corrections to embedded software, to any independent 117
repair provider or owner of equipment manufactured by such 118
original equipment manufacturer. The information must be made 119
available for no charge or provid ed in the same manner as the 120
original equipment manufacturer makes such diagnostic and repair 121
documentation available to an authorized repair provider. 122
Thereafter, the original equipment manufacturer is not 123
responsible for the content and functionality of such 124
aftermarket diagnostic tools, diagnostics, or service 125
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information systems. 126
(3) Original equipment manufactured by the original 127
equipment manufacturer which is sold or used in this state to 128
provide security-related functions may not exclude from 129
information provided to an owner or independent repair provider 130
any diagnostic, service, and repair documentation necessary to 131
reset a security-related electronic function. If such 132
documentation is excluded under this section, the documentation 133
necessary to reset an immobilizer system or a security -related 134
electronic module must be obtained by an owner or independent 135
repair provider through the appropriate secure data release 136
systems. 137
(4) This section may not be construed to do any of the 138
following: 139
(a) Require an original equipment manufacturer to divulge 140
a trade secret. 141
(b) Abrogate, interfere with, contradict, or alter the 142
terms of an agreement executed and in force between an 143
authorized repair provider and an original equipment 144
manufacturer, including, but not limited to, the performance or 145
provision of warranty or recall repair work by an authorized 146
repair provider on behalf of an original equipment manufacturer 147
pursuant to such authorized repair agreement, except that any 148
provision in such an authoriz ed repair agreement which purports 149
to waive, avoid, restrict, or limit an original equipment 150
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manufacturer's compliance with this section is void and 151
unenforceable. 152
(c) Require original equipment manufacturers or authorized 153
repair providers to provide an owner or independent repair 154
provider access to nondiagnostic and repair documentation 155
provided by an original equipment manufacturer to an authorized 156
repair provider pursuant to the terms of an authorized repair 157
agreement. 158
(5) This section does not apply to motor vehicle 159
manufacturers, any product or service of a motor vehicle 160
manufacturer, or motor vehicle dealers. 161
(6) Any original equipment manufacturer found in violation 162
of this section is liable for a civil penalty of not more than 163
$500 for each violation. 164
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 165