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ENROLLED
2026
Legislature
SB 386
2026386er
1
2 An act relating to farm equipment; amending s. 604.40,
3 F.S.; defining the term “farm equipment”; conforming
4 provisions to changes made by the act; authorizing a
5 consumer to report farm equipment that is defective
6 and does not conform to specified warranties to the
7 manufacturer or its authorized service agent during a
8 specified timeframe to allow the manufacturer or its
9 authorized agent to conform such farm equipment to
10 such warranty; requiring the manufacturer or its
11 authorized agent to make such repairs to conform the
12 farm equipment to the warranty upon receipt of such
13 report; requiring that such repairs be at no cost to
14 the consumer; requiring the manufacturer or its
15 authorized agent to replace or accept the return of
16 the defective farm equipment under certain
17 circumstances; providing a presumption; providing for
18 the nonapplicability of the presumption; providing
19 affirmative defenses; providing civil remedies;
20 providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. Section 604.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to
25 read:
26 604.40 Farm equipment
; protection against defective farm
27
equipment
.—
28 (1)
As used in this section, the term “farm equipment”
29
means
all power-drawn, power-driven, or self-propelled equipment
30
used on a farm or used to transport farm products
.
31
(2)
Notwithstanding any other law, ordinance, rule, or
32 policy to the contrary,
farm equipment
all power-drawn, power
33
driven, or self-propelled equipment used on a farm or used to
34
transport farm products
may be stored, maintained, or repaired
35 by the owner within the boundaries of the owner’s farm and at
36 least 50 feet away from any public road without limitation.
37
(2)
This
subsection
section
does not apply to farm
38 equipment
that is
used in urban agriculture, as defined in s.
39 604.73(3).
40
(
3
)
(a)
If farm equipment is defective and does not conform
41
to all applicable express written warranties, the consumer may
42
report the defect to the manufacturer or its authorized service
43
agent during the manufacturer’s warranty period or during the 1
44
year period following the original delivery date of the farm
45
equipment to the consumer to allow the manufacturer or its
46
authorized agent the opportunity to conform the farm equipment
47
to the warranty. Upon receipt of such report, the manufacturer
48
or its authorized agent shall make such repairs as are necessary
49
to conform the equipment to the warranty. Such repairs shall be
50
at no cost to the consumer.
51
(b)
T
he manufacturer or its authorized
agent
shall replace
52
the
farm
equipment with comparable
farm
equipment, or accept the
53
return of the
defective farm
equipment from the consumer and
54
refund the consumer the cash purchase price, including sales
55
tax, license fees, registration fees, and any similar
56
governmental charges
if the manufacturer or its authorized
57
dealer is not able to or otherwise fails to conform the farm
58
equipment to any applicable express written warranty after a
59
reasonable number of attempts.
60
(c)
It is presumed that the manufacturer has made a
61
reasonable number of attempts to conform the farm equipment to
62
the applicable express warranties if the same nonconformity has
63
been the subject of repair three or more times by the
64
manufacturer or its authorized agent but the nonconformity
65
continues to exist.
66
(d)
In no event shall the presumption provided in paragraph
67
(c) apply
to
a manufacturer unless the manufacturer or its
68
authorized
agent
has received prior direct written notification
69
from or on behalf of the consumer and been offered an
70
opportunity to cure the alleged defect.
71
(e)
It
is
an affirmative defense to any claim under this
72
chapter that:
73
1.
An alleged nonconformity does not substantially impair
74
the farm equipment’s use
and market value; or
75
2.
A nonconformity is the result of abuse or neglect, or of
76
modifications or alterations of the
farm
equipment not
77
authorized by the manufacturer.
78
(f)
This chapter may not be construed to
limit or impair
79
the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a
80
consumer under chapter 681.
81
(g)
Any consumer who suffers a loss by reason of a
82
violation of this chapter may bring a civil action to enforce
83
such provision.
84 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.