Senator Rachel May, chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection, said the committee advanced Senate Bill 5771, the Farm Equipment Fair Repair Act, to the Senate Agriculture Committee during the committee's third meeting of the 2025 legislative session.

The bill, introduced in the committee as Senate Bill 5771 by Senator Mangum, would amend New York's general business law to address farmers' access to repair manuals, diagnostic tools and related information for modern, computerized farm equipment. "If your tractor breaks down, you're in the middle of planting or harvesting, you don't have days to go take your equipment to some repair shop," May said. "They want to have the manuals and the tools — have access to the manuals and the tools basically. So they can fix it."

May said the measure is intended to prevent manufacturers from effectively requiring farmers to use only authorized dealerships for repairs, which she said can slow down urgent on‑farm work and increase costs. Committee discussion also noted that modern implements and add‑ons may be proprietary and can force farmers to buy new machines to use new attachments. "These pieces of equipment are very expensive. Farmers are under a huge amount of financial pressure right now," May said.

Committee members approved a motion by voice vote to move the bill to the Agriculture Committee; the motion was seconded and the chair recorded the bill as reported to the Agriculture Committee. The transcript shows a voice vote with members saying "Aye" and no recorded opposition; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.

The committee conversation referenced prior right‑to‑repair legislation the Senate passed in earlier sessions and discussed a specific farm example cited in committee remarks (Mosier Farms and an older model "574" tractor). The committee did not set a final floor date; the next procedural step is consideration by the Senate Agriculture Committee.

The bill's sponsor and committee staff agreed the measure aims to shorten repair times for farmers and reduce dependence on single‑dealer repair options, but committee members did not provide a detailed implementation timeline during the meeting.