Today, the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee passed HB 2402 out of committee by a close vote of 9-8. However, the bill is not expected to advance to the next committee this late in session and is considered dead for the year.
A poorly crafted last-minute amendment to the bill switched a crucial vote to give the bill a majority. The amendment would give owners and independent repair providers the right to receive a disclosure of any changes or modifications made to the equipment by previous owners. Yet another unworkable burden on dealers that does nothing to solve the problems the bill creates.
Although we lost the vote, the narrow majority is an improvement on last year’s vote. As we look forward, there will be major shakeups on the Agriculture Policy Committee with dealer allies like Chairman Rone retiring because of term limits and other no votes retiring. With the election this fall, there could be other changes to come.
There is work to be done in the interim to keep track of these changes and more importantly to educate policymakers about what dealers do to support customer repair. Thank you to all the dealers who engaged on this bill again to keep it from moving forward in the Missouri legislature.
If you have any questions about HB 2402 or other bills in the Missouri legislature, please contact Eric Wareham, Vice President of Government Affairs.