An Act to require that manufacturers of agricultural equipment allow an independent repair provider or an owner to make certain repairs to agricultural equipment.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

Terms used in this Act mean:

(1) "Agricultural equipment," or "equipment," any product originating from the manufacturer when sold or leased for use in farming or other forms of agriculture, that depends for its functioning, in whole or in part, on digital electronics embedded in or attached to it, including any tractor, combine, harvesting equipment, tillage, planting, irrigation, or cultivating implement, baler, or any off-road vehicle, as defined in § 32-20-1, which is designed primarily for use in an agricultural operation. The definition does not include:

(a) A motor vehicle, as defined in chapter 32-5; or

(b) Industrial, construction, mining, or road-building equipment;

(2) "Authorized repair provider," an individual or business that has an arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer for a definite or indefinite period of time, under which the manufacturer grants the individual or business a license, or franchise, to use a trade name, service mark, or related characteristic for the purpose of offering diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural equipment, under the name of or on behalf of the original equipment manufacturer;

(3) "Code," subject to the limitations of sections 5 and 6 of this Act, information that can be read by a human or machine, and which is related to a performance issue arising from the operation of an owner's agricultural equipment;

(4) "Confidential information," any nonpublic information or nonpublic materials of the manufacturer, its affiliates, its licensors, or its suppliers, which are related to goods, research and development information, patent rights, or intellectual property rights;

(5) "Documentation," subject to the limitations of sections 5 and 6 of this Act, any manual, diagram, reporting output, service code description, schematic drawing, or other guidance or information, used in diagnosing, maintaining, repairing, or upgrading agricultural equipment;

(6) "Embedded software," any programmable instructions provided on firmware delivered with or loaded onto the agricultural equipment, including assembly code, basic internal operating system, internal operating system, machine code, microcode, root code, and all relevant patches, fixes, and updates from the manufacturer;

(7) "Fair and reasonable terms," at fair and commercially reasonable terms that do not impose unreasonable burdens on an independent repair provider or owner;

(8) "Firmware," a software program or set of instructions programmed on agricultural equipment, or on a part of the agricultural equipment, to allow the agricultural equipment or part to communicate within itself or with other computer hardware;

(9) "Goods," code, confidential information, documentation, embedded software, agricultural equipment, parts, software, specialty tools, tools, updates, and any other product or service distributed, manufactured, or made available by or through a manufacturer;

(10) "Independent repair provider," an individual or business that is not affiliated with an authorized repair provider or manufacturer, with respect to agricultural equipment, but is engaged in diagnosing, maintaining, or repairing agricultural equipment generally and is willing and capable of repairing agricultural equipment;

(11) "Manufacturer," any individual or business engaged in the business of making new and complete agricultural equipment;

(12) "Obsolete," no longer produced, sold, exchanged, or maintained by a manufacturer;

(13) "Owner," an individual or business that owns or leases agricultural equipment purchased or used in this state;

(14) "Part," any replacement part made available or used by a manufacturer or its authorized repair provider for maintenance or repair of agricultural equipment manufactured by or on behalf of, sold, or otherwise supplied by the manufacturer;

(15) "Safety," any goods that are intended to prevent injury, harm, danger, or loss to individuals or property;

(16) "Software," a publicly available digital platform that provides access to technical manuals, diagnostic codes, equipment calibrations, and other publicly available resources, which are necessary for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural equipment;

(17) "Specialty tool," a mechanical implement originating from the manufacturer, which is necessary to facilitate mechanical or electrical maintenance, repair, or upgrade of a manufacturer's agricultural equipment, and which is not generally available other than from the manufacturer's authorized repair facilities;

(18) "Tool," any software, hardware implement, or other apparatus originating from the manufacturer, which is used for data readout, diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural equipment, including software or other mechanisms that calibrate functionality or perform any other function required to operate, maintain, upgrade, activate, or bring the agricultural equipment back to a fully functional condition;

(19) "Trade secret," as defined in § 37-29-1; and

(20) "Updates," recommended corrections or adjustments to documentation, parts, software, specialty tools, tools, or information that are created and distributed by the manufacturer and used in offering the services of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural equipment.

Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

For agricultural equipment and parts for agricultural equipment that are sold or used in this state, a manufacturer shall make available on fair and reasonable terms to any independent repair provider and any owner of agricultural equipment manufactured by, on behalf of, or sold by the manufacturer, any code, documentation, parts, software, specialty tools, tools, and updates, inclusive of any updates to information on embedded software, required for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the agricultural equipment. The code, documentation, parts, software, specialty tools, tools, and updates, must be made available either directly by the manufacturer or through an authorized repair provider or distributor.

For agricultural equipment that contains an electronic lock, immobilizer, or other security-related function, pursuant to this chapter and subject to the limitations of sections 5 and 6 of this Act, the manufacturer shall make available to an independent repair provider or owner, on fair and reasonable terms, any documentation and tools needed to disable the lock, immobilizer, or function, and to reset it when disabled in the ordinary course of diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the agricultural equipment.

Section 3. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

A manufacturer's failure to provide code, documentation, parts, software, specialty tools, or tools, as described in section 2 of this Act, constitutes a deceptive act or practice pursuant to § 37-24-6.

Section 4. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

Nothing in this Act may be construed to require a manufacturer to:

(1) Divulge any trade secret or any proprietary or confidential information;

(2) Alter the terms of any arrangement between an authorized repair provider and a manufacturer, including the authorized repair provider's performance or provision of warranty or recall repair work on behalf of a manufacturer and pursuant to such an arrangement, except that any provision that purports to waive, avoid, restrict, or limit the manufacturer’s obligations to comply with this Act is void and unenforceable;

(3) Make available goods that would disable or override safety features or emission controls to adjust agricultural equipment power levels;

(4) Develop new goods or update any obsolete goods in order to comply with this section;

(5) Violate any federal, state, or local laws or regulations;

(6) Provide an owner or independent repair provider access to any goods that are not required for the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of agricultural equipment, or any goods that would enable reverse engineering of a manufacturer's goods;

(7) Provide goods directly to an independent repair provider or owner provided the goods are made available through an authorized repair provider; or

(8) Violate any confidentiality obligations or provide any information, mechanism, device, or other means, to allow an encrypted file to be unencrypted.

Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

An independent repair provider or owner may not:

(1) Modify agricultural equipment to deactivate an anti-theft, safety, or security notification system, except as necessary to provide diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services, and if deactivation is necessary, the independent repair provider or owner must immediately reactivate any anti-theft, safety, or security notification system upon the completion of the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair;

(2) Override safety features, emission controls, adjust agricultural equipment power levels, or make any other modification to equipment , which brings the equipment out of compliance with any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation;

(3) Access any function of a tool that allows the settings for a piece of agricultural equipment to be changed in a manner that brings the equipment out of compliance with any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation; or

(4) Obtain or use code, documentation, parts, software, specialty tools, tools, or updates, to evade or violate emissions, copyright, trademark, safety, or patent laws, or to engage in any other illegal activity.

An independent repair provider or owner who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

Neither a manufacturer nor an authorized repair provider is liable for any violation of law, damage, or injury to any agricultural equipment, individual, or person, which occurs during the course of, or as a result of, the repair, diagnosis, or maintenance of agricultural equipment by an independent repair provider or owner, provided the violation, damage, or injury occurred as a result of a manufacturer or authorized repair provider complying with this Act. This provision is not intended to release a manufacturer from any liability attributable to design or manufacturing defects as per chapter 20-9.

Section 7. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 37-5:

This Act applies to equipment first manufactured and sold on or after January 1, 2014.

Section 8. This Act is effective beginning October 1, 2026.