Bill Text: MI HB5563 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Vehicles: agricultural equipment; original equipment manufacturers of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment to provide certain parts, tools, and documentation to owners and independent repair providers; require. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-12-01 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 11/30/2021 [HB5563 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-HB5563-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 5563
A bill to require original equipment manufacturers of certain agricultural equipment to make certain parts, tools, and documentation available to certain persons; to provide remedies; and to provide for the powers and duties of certain state governmental officers and entities.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "agricultural equipment repair act".
(a) "Authorized repair provider" means, with respect to an original equipment manufacturer, a person that is unaffiliated with the original equipment manufacturer and that has an arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer, for a definite or indefinite period, under which the original equipment manufacturer grants to the person a license to use a trade name, service mark, or other proprietary identifier for the purposes of offering the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment under the name of the original equipment manufacturer, or otherwise to offer those services on behalf of the original equipment manufacturer. An original equipment manufacturer that offers diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services of its own electronics-enabled agricultural equipment and that does not have an arrangement described in this subdivision with an unaffiliated person is considered an authorized repair provider with respect to that equipment.
(b) "Documentation" means any manual, diagram, reporting output, service code description, schematic, product guide, or other guidance or information used for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment.
(c) "Electronics-enabled agricultural equipment" means any product, part of a product, or attachment to a product, when sold or leased for use in farming, ranching, or other agriculture, that depends for its functioning, in whole or in part, on digital electronics embedded in or attached to the product. The term includes, but is not limited to, a tractor, trailer, combine, tillage, planting, irrigation, or cultivating implement, baler, unmanned aircraft system, or off-road vehicle. The term does not include motor vehicles and consumer electronic devices, including wireless communication devices and computers.
(d) "Embedded software" means any programmable instructions provided on firmware delivered with electronics-enabled agricultural equipment, or with a part for electronics-enabled agricultural equipment, for purposes of equipment operation, including all relevant patches and fixes made by the original equipment manufacturer for this purpose.
(e) "Fair and reasonable terms" means costs and terms that meet all of the following requirements:
(i) For obtaining a part or tool, documentation, or software, costs and terms that meet all of the following:
(A) Are equivalent to the most favorable costs and terms under which an original equipment manufacturer offers the part, tool, documentation, or software to an authorized repair provider, accounting for any discount, rebate, convenient means of delivery, means of enabling fully restored and updated functionality, rights of use, or other incentive or preference the original equipment manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider, or any additional cost, burden, or impediment the original equipment manufacturer imposes on an independent repair provider.
(B) Are not conditioned on entering an arrangement described in subdivision (a).
(C) Are not conditioned on or do not impose a substantial obligation or restriction that is not reasonably necessary for enabling the owner or independent repair provider to engage in the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment made by or on behalf of the original equipment manufacturer.
(ii) For documentation, including any relevant updates, at no charge, except that, if the documentation is required in physical printed form, a charge may be included for the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending the copy.
(iii) For software tools, without requiring authorization or internet access, or imposing impediments to access or use, in the course of effecting the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair and enabling full functionality of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment, in a manner that impairs the efficient and cost-effective performance of any of those activities.
(f) "Firmware" means a software program or set of instructions programmed on electronics-enabled agricultural equipment or on a part for that equipment, to allow the equipment or part to communicate within itself or with other computer hardware.
(g) "Independent repair provider" means, with respect to an original equipment manufacturer, a person operating in this state that does not have an arrangement described in subdivision (a) with the original equipment manufacturer, and that is not affiliated with any person that has such an arrangement, and that is engaged in diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment. An original equipment manufacturer or, with respect to that original equipment manufacturer, a person that has an arrangement described in subdivision (a) with that original equipment manufacturer, or that is affiliated with a person that has such an arrangement with that original equipment manufacturer, is considered an independent repair provider for purposes of those instances in which it engages in diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment that is not manufactured by or sold under the name of that original equipment manufacturer.
(h) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle that is designed for transporting persons or property on a street or highway and is certified by the manufacturer under all applicable federal safety and emissions standards and requirements for distribution and sale in the United States.
(i) "Original equipment manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of selling, leasing, or otherwise supplying new electronics-enabled agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of itself.
(j) "Owner" means a person that owns or leases electronics-enabled agricultural equipment purchased or used in this state.
(k) "Part" means any replacement part, either new or used, made available by an original equipment manufacturer for purposes of maintenance or repair services of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, sold by, or otherwise supplied by the original equipment manufacturer.
(l) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity.
(m) "Tool" means any software program, hardware implement, or other apparatus used for diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment, including software or other mechanisms that provision, program, or pair a new part, calibrate functionality, or perform any other function required to bring the product back to fully functional condition.
(n) "Trade secret" means that term as defined in section 2 of the uniform trade secrets act, 1998 PA 448, MCL 445.1902.
Sec. 3. (1) For electronics-enabled agricultural equipment and parts of electronics-enabled agricultural equipment sold or used in this state, an original equipment manufacturer shall make available, for purposes of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of that equipment, to any independent repair provider or to the owner of the electronics-enabled agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of or sold or otherwise supplied by the original equipment manufacturer, on fair and reasonable terms, documentation, parts, and tools, including any updates to information or embedded software. This subsection does not require an original equipment manufacturer to make a part available if the part is no longer available to the original equipment manufacturer.
(2) For equipment that contains an electronic security lock or other security-related function, the original equipment manufacturer shall make available to the owner and to independent repair providers, on fair and reasonable terms, any special part, tool, and documentation needed to disable the lock or function and to reset it when disabled in the course of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the equipment. The original equipment manufacturer may make the part, tool, and documentation described in this subsection available by means of an appropriate secure system.
(3) When the original equipment manufacturer has made an express warranty with respect to electronics-enabled agricultural equipment and the wholesale price of the equipment is $100.00 or more, the manufacturer shall provide the part, tool, and documentation to enable the equipment to be repaired during the warranty period at an equitable price and convenience of delivery and of enabling functionality in consideration of all of the following:
(a) The actual cost to the original equipment manufacturer to prepare and distribute the part, tool, or documentation, exclusive of any research and development costs incurred.
(b) The ability of owners and independent repair providers to afford the part, tool, or documentation.
(c) The means by which the part, tool, or documentation is distributed.
Sec. 5. The attorney general has the authority to bring a civil action for damages or equitable relief for a violation of this act and to otherwise enforce the provisions of this act.
Sec. 7. (1) This act does not require an original equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade secret to an owner or an independent service provider except as necessary to provide parts, tools, and documentation on fair and reasonable terms.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, this act does not alter the terms or any arrangement described in section 2(a) that is in force between an authorized repair provider and an original equipment manufacturer, including, but not limited to, a performance provision of warranty or recall work by an authorized repair provider on behalf of an original equipment manufacturer under that arrangement. A provision of an arrangement described in section 2(a) that purports to waive, avoid, restrict, or limit an original equipment manufacturer's obligations to comply with this act is void and unenforceable.
Sec. 9. This act applies to electronics-enabled agricultural equipment that is sold or in use on or after the effective date of this act.
