House Bill 1852 has been scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development. The hearing is set for tomorrow, April 2nd at 10 a.m. A substitute bill was engrossed yesterday that differs little from the original bill and still contains problematic provisions.
NAEDA has made multiple requests of the bill sponsor, Rep. Jeremiah Moore, to meet and discuss our concerns with the legislation. To this point, we have not received any communication from him. NAEDA has submitted our position statement to the committee in advance of the hearing.
We are asking dealers to engage on three action items:
- Email or call the bill sponsor, Rep. Moore, requesting he meet with NAEDA, OEMs, and dealers to discuss the bill. His contact information is: jeremiah.moore@arkansashouse.org / (870) 674-4373
- Email or call the Chair of the Committee, Rep. Roger Lynch, urging him to table the bill until stakeholders are consulted on the bill: roger.lynch@arkansashouse.org / (501) 412-8959
- Email the Speaker of the House and his Chief of Staff urging them to not allow the bill to move until stakeholders have been consulted: Speaker of the House Brian Evans: brian.evans@arkansashouse.org, Speaker Chief of Staff: gina.lockwood@arkansashouse.org
The Arkansas Legislature is anticipated to adjourn April 16th. This bill needs to be delayed to run out the clock. We need to impress on the chair of the committee and the Speaker that our industry has not been consulted on the bill and the bill will have dramatic consequences for our industry. Specific talking points include:
- No protections for warranty or recall work performed by authorized dealerships
- The bill forces OEMs to treat independent repair shops the same as authorized dealers breaching the contracts between dealers and manufacturers
- The bill undermines authorized dealer’s investment in inventory, personnel, and training
- The bill allows unaccountable access to farm equipment software creating safety and security issues for customers and dealerships
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me directly. We will keep you updated on the status of this legislation after the hearing.
