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CS/CS/HB 637 2026
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hb637-02-c2
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to farm equipment; amending s. 604.40, 2
F.S.; defining the terms "consumer" and "farm 3
equipment"; authorizing a consumer to report farm 4
equipment that is defective and does not conform to 5
specified warranties to the manufacturer or its 6
authorized service agent during a specified timeframe 7
to allow the manufacturer or its authorized agent to 8
conform such farm equipment to such warranty; 9
requiring the manufacturer or its authorized agent to 10
make repairs to conform the farm equipment to the 11
warranty upon receipt of such report; requiring that 12
such repairs be at no cost to the consumer; requiring 13
the manufacturer or its authorized agent to replace or 14
accept the return of the defective farm equipment 15
under certain circumstances; providing a presumption; 16
authorizing an extension of the allowable repair 17
period under certain conditions; providing affirmative 18
defenses; providing civil remedies; providing 19
applicability; providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 604.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to 24
read: 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
604.40 Farm equipment; protection against defective farm 26
equipment.— 27
(1) As used in this section, the term: 28
(a) "Consumer" means a purchaser or lessee of farm 29
equipment, other than for purposes of resale, or a person 30
entitled to enforce the obligations of the warranty during the 31
duration of the farm equipment warranty period. 32
(b) "Farm equipment" means all power-drawn, power-driven, 33
or self-propelled equipment primarily designed for use on a farm 34
or primarily designed to transport farm products. 35
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, ordinance, rule, or 36
policy to the contrary, farm equipment all power-drawn, power-37
driven, or self-propelled equipment used on a farm or used to 38
transport farm products may be stored, maintained, or repaired 39
by the owner within the boundaries of the owner's farm and at 40
least 50 feet away from any public road without limitation. 41
(2) This subsection section does not apply to farm 42
equipment that is used in urban agriculture, as defined in s. 43
604.73(3). 44
(3)(a) If farm equipment is defective and does not conform 45
to all applicable express written warranties, the consumer may 46
report the defect in writing to the manufacturer or its 47
authorized service agent during the manufacturer's warranty 48
period or during the 1-year period following the original 49
delivery date of the farm equipment to the consumer to allow the 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
manufacturer or its authorized agent the opportunity to conform 51
the farm equipment to the warranty. Upon receipt of such report, 52
the manufacturer or its authorized agent shall make such repairs 53
as are necessary to conform the equipment to the warranty. Such 54
repairs shall be at no cost to the consumer. 55
(b) The manufacturer or its authorized agent shall replace 56
the farm equipment with comparable farm equipment, or accept the 57
return of the defective farm equipment from the consumer and 58
refund the consumer and the lienholder or holder of a security 59
interest, if any, the cash purchase price, including sales tax, 60
license fees, registration fees, and any similar governmental 61
charges less a reasonable offset for prior use and depreciation 62
of the farm equipment, if the manufacturer or its authorized 63
dealer is not able to or otherwise fails to conform the farm 64
equipment to any applicable express written warranty after a 65
reasonable number of attempts. 66
(c) It is presumed that the manufacturer has made a 67
reasonable number of attempts to conform the farm equipment to 68
the applicable express warranties if the same nonconformity has 69
been the subject of repair three or more times by the 70
manufacturer or its authorized agent but the nonconformity 71
continues to exist. All reasonable attempts to conform the farm 72
equipment to the manufacturer's warranty must be made within 18 73
months after the consumer reports the defect to the manufacturer 74
in accordance with paragraph (a). 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(d) In no event shall the presumption provided in 76
paragraph (c) apply to a manufacturer unless the manufacturer or 77
its authorized agent has received prior direct written 78
notification from or on behalf of the consumer and been offered 79
an opportunity to cure the alleged defect. 80
(e) The allowable repair period shall be extended by any 81
period of time during which repair services are not available to 82
the consumer because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood, or 83
natural disaster. 84
(f) It is an affirmative defense to any claim under this 85
subsection that: 86
1. An alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair 87
the farm equipment's use and market value; or 88
2. A nonconformity is the result of abuse or neglect, or 89
of modifications to or alterations of the farm equipment not 90
authorized by the manufacturer. 91
(g) Any consumer who suffers a loss by reason of a 92
violation of this subsection may bring a civil action to enforce 93
such provision. 94
(h) This subsection applies to farm equipment sold on or 95
after July 1, 2026. 96
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 97