An Act to create 100.204 of the statutes; Relating to: the right to repair agricultural equipment, and providing a penalty. (FE)
AB147 creates a new section of Wisconsin statutes establishing a “right to repair” framework for agricultural equipment. It requires manufacturers, upon request and at fair terms and fair costs, to make available to owners and independent repair providers the documentation, data, embedded software, firmware, parts, and tools needed to diagnose, maintain, and repair covered farm equipment. The bill defines covered equipment broadly to include items such as tractors, combines, sprayers, implements, and attachments used in farming or ranching, while excluding road vehicles, aircraft, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, motorboats, and irrigation equipment.
The bill also addresses security-related repair needs by requiring manufacturers to provide materials needed to reset electronic security locks or similar functions when those systems are disabled during repair. It limits the bill’s reach by preserving trade secret protections, allowing redaction or withholding of certain proprietary information so long as the usability of the repair materials is not diminished, and by excluding parts that are no longer available. The bill voids contract terms that attempt to waive or restrict these repair obligations in future agreements, but it does not alter existing authorized repair provider contracts already in force on the effective date.
AB147 would add a new statutory obligation on agricultural equipment manufacturers in Wisconsin to support independent repair and owner repair access, changing the legal relationship between manufacturers, dealers, owners, and third-party repair providers. It would also create enforcement tools, including investigations by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, private actions for pecuniary loss with enhanced damages and attorney fees, state injunction actions, and forfeitures for violations. At the same time, the bill preserves limits for trade secrets, safety compliance, emissions and intellectual property laws, and it expressly disclaims any change to product liability law or existing authorized repair contracts.
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill’s purpose, as it was introduced by a large bipartisan group of legislators and framed as a consumer- and farmer-access measure. However, the bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1, indicating that it did not secure final legislative approval despite its broad sponsorship. No committee transcript or recorded vote details are provided, so the public discussion record here is limited.
The main points of contention are likely to have centered on the scope of manufacturer obligations, especially whether requiring access to software, firmware, tools, and diagnostic data could expose proprietary information or create cybersecurity and safety risks. The bill tries to address those concerns by preserving trade secret protections, limiting access to information that would diminish tool usability, and prohibiting repairs or modifications that would violate safety, emissions, copyright, trademark, or patent laws. Another likely area of dispute is liability: the bill shields manufacturers and dealers from damages caused by improper repairs by owners or independent providers, while also creating penalties for manufacturers that fail to comply with access requirements.