February 8, 2024
Late last week, an agricultural specific Right to Repair bill was introduced by Senator Sara Kyle (D-Memphis). The bill, SB 2035, was quickly referred to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee.
The bill would add a new section of law to the Tennessee Unfair and Deceptive Acts. It would mandate that OEMs make available parts, documentation, embedded software, firmware, or tools directly to owners and independent repair shops at “fair and reasonable costs.” The bill defines fair and reasonable as:
“terms that are equivalent to the most favorable terms that the manufacturer offers to an authorized repair provider, and costs that are no greater than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, that are calculated using net costs incurred, and that account for discounts, rebates, or incentives offered.”
In a strange twist, although the bill is in a different committee, the Senate Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Committee held an informational hearing with a proponent of Right to Repair on Wednesday, February 7th with no advance notice to our industry. The person testifying holds himself out as an expert but has no connection to agriculture, and we have seen him many times in the past. The hearing was brief and raised concerns with Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) expressed their support for the bill.
NAEDA submitted a position statement to the committee members ahead of the committee. We will be following up with both senators who expressed support for the bill and members of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. If any dealers have a personal connection with either of the two Senators mentioned, please let me know.
We will keep you updated on any developments with this legislation and likely will need dealer involvement to change the false narrative that was presented in the hearing. Please contact me directly at ewareham@naeda.com with any questions or information you have relating to this bill.