Oklahoma legislators are considering a right-to-repair bill for agricultural machinery.
House Bill 3617 requires manufacturers to make parts or tools needed for diagnosing, maintenance and repairing machinery available to independent repairers and equipment owners.
Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Edmond, and Sen. Casey Murdock, R-Felt, authored the bill. When machinery breaks down, Lawson said some producers have to haul equipment long distances and fixing it can take a while.
He said many farmers and ranchers are supportive of the bill.
"To folks in that industry, time is money and a piece of equipment goes down, and having to go and get it repaired oftentimes can really be devastating to a cycle," Lawson said.
Agriculture machinery can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and when it breaks down, it can be hard to repair. He said people must go to authorized retailers to fix the problem.
"So that's my understanding, a lot of it is a computer or something there, throws a code and that is kind of the locked gate for the producer," Lawsons said. "And oftentimes, it's really just a special piece of equipment."
Right-to-repair bills have circulated in state legislatures across the country in recent years, including in Oklahoma. Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, and former Sen. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City, introduced bills focusing on electronics in the past.
Some manufacturers have opposed other right-to-repair measures due to the risk of infringement of intellectual property rights and of disclosing trade secrets.
While in the House Agriculture Committee, Lawson said the bill includes language protecting intellectual property and trade secrets. He said it would not hold manufacturers' warranties if someone were to repair their own machinery.
The House Agriculture Committee passed the measure with a 5-1 vote last week. It's now going to the House Energy and Natural Resources Oversight Committee. Moving forward, Lawson said technology will play a larger role across all machinery, not just agricultural equipment and will continue to evolve.
"I do think that this will address the problems of today, but also set a groundwork for where technology goes and what the future holds as well," Lawson said.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
