House agriculture committee advances right to repair bill

The House Agriculture Committee advanced a bill Thursday aimed at ensuring Iowa farmers can make their own repairs on agricultural equipment.

House Study Bill 751 would require agricultural equipment manufacturers to make documentation, parts, software, firmware and tools available at “fair and reasonable terms and costs” to independent repair facilities and equipment owners.

The bill was introduced by the committee chair, Rep. Derek Wulf, R-Hudson, who said the farm economy needs more “problem solvers.”

“Farmers are our best problem solvers, they’re known for self reliance,” Wulf said. “If something breaks, farmers want to be able to fix it themselves whenever possible. This bill certainly gives them that ability.”

Wulf brought forward an amendment, which the committee adopted, that he said addressed concerns raised by equipment dealers about some of the “pricing mechanisms” in the bill.

As introduced, the bill explains that the mechanisms required for repair should be offered to equipment owners or independent repair shops at terms that are “equivalent” to those offered to authorized repair providers and at “costs that are no greater than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.”  

Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, said the bill would help to “balance things out” between farmers and equipment manufacturers.

Farmers and the Federal Trade Commission have launched lawsuits against equipment manufacturers claiming the manufacturers have made increasingly sophisticated equipment that requires specific tools that are only available at dealerships. Farmers argue this means breakdowns take longer and are more expensive to repair.

Earlier in the session, the House Agriculture Committee advanced a bill that would similarly allow farmers to repair their own equipment, though that bill, House File 2529, applied specifically to diesel engine repairs.

Rep. Dave Sieck, R-Glenwood, said in the committee meeting Thursday that HSB 751 was “still sort of a work in progress” but he voted to advance the bill.

HSB 751 was approved by the committee with a vote of 18-5. Reps. Jon Dunwell, Kenan Judge, Norlin Mommsen, Elizabeth Wilson and Jeff Cooling voted against the bill.

The House Agriculture Committee additionally voted to advance House File 2444, a bill that would create new licensing permits for farm-to-table events, expand the permissible sales of raw milk and allow cottage foods to be sold in grocery stores.

The bill passed with a vote of 17-6.