By Clayton Murphy | UM Legislative News Service

HELENA — The third attempt at giving Montana farmers and ranchers the right to repair their agricultural equipment outside of dealerships hit the House Business and Labor committee on Feb. 13.

Proponents of House Bill 390 said when manufacturers require that certain repairs only be made by dealers, they leave farmers and ranchers with too few options. But the bill also drew criticism for overstepping in what opponents said could be an easy private-sector solution.

Retired Army Col. Richard Liebert is a cattle rancher in Cascade County and president of the Montana Cattlemen Association. He drew comparisons from his military career to support the bill, emphasizing “operational readiness.”

“You’ve got to keep everything in the fight as much as possible, every way possible,” Liebert said. “More technicians, more opportunities. All problems come down to resources, time and people.”

Eric Wareham, senior vice president of government affairs for the North American Equipment Dealers Association, spoke against the bill. 

“It’s a blunt instrument and it has a lot of unintended consequences,” Wareham said. “So we greatly prefer a private sector solution that will not have those unintended consequences on a dealer’s business model.”

Wareham recommended the use of memorandums of understanding, formal agreements that are not legally binding.

HB 390 is carried by Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre. The committee did not take immediate action on the bill.

Clayton Murphy is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Murphy can be reached at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu.