Colorado’s Agricultural Equipment Right to Repair Law in Effect
By Frederick J. Steimling, Esq. - Otis and Bedingfield, LLC —
On January 1, 2024, Colorado’s first-of-its-kind Right to Repair agricultural equipment law, the Consumer Repairs Bill of Rights Act (CRBR), went into effect.
In short, the CRBR requires the original farm equipment manufacturer to provide owners and independent repair providers with resources including parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, and guides, enabling farmers and repair providers with the ability to repair their agricultural equipment. The CRBR also provides legal redress for farmers and independent repair providers for non-compliance of the CRBR by manufacturers and prevents manufacturers from entering contracts that limit access to repair resources.
Historically, manufacturers have imposed artificial barriers to prevent do-it-yourself repairs, citing concerns that horsepower, emissions, and safety controls would be bypassed if equipment owners and independent repair providers were given access to the resources they generally withhold. The CRBR’s primary goal is to minimize the farmers’ downtime and subsequent potential for economic losses associated with a prolonged repair process resulting from a manufacturer’s proprietary involvement (e.g., having to wait for a manufacturer’s representative to reset a software error code on a tractor) during peak planting and harvesting windows.
Ultimately, however, the CRBR strikes a balance between the farmers and manufacturers by prohibiting the farmers and independent repair providers from making modifications that deactivate safety notifications or that would violate emissions, copyright, patent, and trademark laws.
With Colorado’s nearly 39,000 farms and ranches and over 195,000 agricultural industry employees, the legislation is expected to have a significant impact in the state. Though the CRBR is limited to agricultural equipment in Colorado, proponents of similar laws have gained footing around the country. Ten other states, including California, Minnesota, and New York, have passed similar legislation set to go into effect this year.
If you have questions regarding the CRBR, you should consult an experienced business attorney in your area.
