Revised
November, 1995
Administration: Certain portions of these statutes are administered by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Division of Weights and Measures, State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Telephone: (402) 471-4292.
Cooperating Agency: These statutes are administered in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, Board of Tractor Test Engineers and the University of Nebraska Tractor Testing Laboratory, University of Nebraska, East Campus, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583. Telephone: (402) 472-2824.
Revisions: These statutes were last revised during the 1995 session of the Nebraska Legislature.
Rules: No regulations have been promulgated by this Department under these statutes.
2-2701 Current tractor model; testing required;
application; procedure; temporary permit; failure to meet requirements; effect.
2-2701.01 Terms, defined.
2-2701.02 Sales permit; information required; notice to
purchaser; liability for damages.
2-2702 Board of Regents of the University of
Nebraska; powers and duties.
2-2703 Tractor model test results; board;
duties.
2-2703.01 Supplemental sale permit; issuance; testing;
when required.
2-2705 Tractor model tests; fees; University of
Nebraska Tractor Test Cash Fund; created; use; investment.
2-2705.01 Application fee; Tractor Permit Cash Fund;
created; use; investment.
2-2706 Tractor model; failure to meet
specifications; retesting permitted; effect on sale of other models; permit specify model.
2-2707 Tractor model tests; report;
publication; public record.
2-2708 Tractor model tests results; improper
use; penalty.
2-2709 Tractor model testing order;
discrimination prohibited; exception.
2-2710 Sales without permit; penalty.
2-2711 Department; enforcement; rules and
regulations.
2-2701. Current tractor model; testing required; application;
procedure; temporary permit; failure to meet requirements; effect. (1)
No person shall be permitted to sell or dispose of any current tractor model in the State
of Nebraska without first having (a) made application for a permit and obtained a permit
to sell the tractor model, (b) the model tested by the University of Nebraska onsite or
offsite or by any Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development test station,
and (c) the model passed upon by the board. Each and every tractor model presented
for testing shall be a stock model and shall not be equipped with any special accessory
unless regularly supplied to the trade. Any tractor model not complying with this section
shall not be tested under sections 2-2701 to 2-2711. Applications shall be made to the
board and shall be accompanied by specifications of the tractor model required by the
board and by the applicable fees specified in sections 2-2705 and 2-2705.01.
(2) If an official test application, with the required specifications and fees, is
submitted to any Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development test station
or to the University of Nebraska and an application for a temporary permit and the fee
prescribed in 2-2705.01 are submitted, the department, with the approval of the board,
may issue a temporary permit for the sale of the tractor model specified in the official
test application. The date on which the temporary permit terminates shall be fixed by
the board. All temporary permits shall be conditioned upon such tractor model being
tested at a mutually agreed-upon date, and the person to whom a temporary permit has
been issued shall submit a tractor model for testing which conforms to the specifications
filed with the official test application. Such tractor model shall be delivered for testing at
the mutually agreed-upon date. Upon failure so to do, all such fees deposited by such
person shall be forfeited to the University of Nebraska Tractor Test Cash Fund, except
that the fee imposed in section 2-2705.01 shall be deposited in and forfeited to the
Tractor Permit Cash Fund, and in addition such person shall not be issued any
temporary permit for a period of five years from the date such tractor was to be
delivered for testing and until such person meets the obligations required under
subsection (3) of this section to the department's satisfaction. Any person who, prior to
April 17, 1986, has been barred from applying for temporary permits may again make
applications for temporary permits if five years have passed from the date such person
last failed to deliver a tractor as specified by the board.
(3) All sales of tractors upon which a temporary permit has been issued shall be
made subject to the final official test and approval of the tractor model as follows:
(b) If a tractor model upon which a temporary permit has been issued
fails in the official test to meet the specifications of the tractor model which were filed
with the application and fees, the person to whom the temporary permit was issued
shall send a notice, as approved by the department, to any person in Nebraska who has
purchased a tractor sold under the temporary permit. The person to whom the
temporary permit was issued shall either modify the tractor to meet the specifications
filed with the board or remedy to the satisfaction of the purchaser any injury incurred by
the purchaser which was caused by the failure of the tractor to meet the specifications
claimed. Such person shall be prohibited from modifying sales literature, advertisement
claims, or specifications of the tractor to avoid such notice.
2-2701.01. Terms, defined. For purposes
of sections 2-2701 to 2-2711, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) Board shall mean the University of Nebraska Board of Tractor Test
Engineers which shall consist of three engineers under the control of the university;
(2) Current tractor model shall mean any model included in the
manufacturer's annual price list of tractors being offered for sale by its dealers or
distributors;
(3) Department shall mean the Department of Agriculture;
(4) Director shall mean the Director of Agriculture or his or her authorized
representative;
(5) Person shall mean bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities,
the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock
companies, and associations; and
(6) Tractor shall mean an agricultural tractor of forty or more horsepower
which is a traction machine designed and advertised primarily to supply power to
agricultural implements and farmstead equipment. An agricultural tractor propels itself
and provides a force in the direction of travel to enable attached soil-engaging and other
agricultural implements to perform their intended function.
2-2701.02. Sales permit; information required; notice to
purchaser; liability for damages. (1) Any person who applies for a
permit to sell a tractor model in the state shall provide to the department at the time of
application information on the availability and accessibility of service and replacement
parts for such tractor model. Such information shall include the names and addresses
of any regional service, parts, or supply dealers, instructions on how to order parts and
supplies, and any limitations as to the availability and accessibility of service and
replacement parts. Any person who fails to provide the information required in this
section shall not be issued a sales permit for the tractor model. The information
received by the department pursuant to this section shall be public information.
(2) Any person who initially sells to the ultimate consumer a current tractor
model for which a sales permit has been issued after April 17, 1986, shall provide to the
purchaser written notice that the information required in subsection (1) of this section
has been filed with and is available at the department. Any remedy for failure to comply
with this subsection shall be as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
(3) Any person who provides to the department information required in
subsection (1) of this section which is inaccurate at the time of application shall be liable
for damages to any injured purchaser of the tractor for which a sales permit has been
issued, and any person who fails to provide the notice required in subsection (2) of this
section shall be liable for damages to the person who purchased such tractor from such
person. For purposes of this section, damages may include, but shall not be limited to,
loss of profits, the additional cost of shipment of parts, and the additional cost of
obtaining parts or services from another provider. In any action brought under this
section, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party.
2-2702. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska;
powers and duties.
(1)
(b) The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall adopt
procedures for the official testing of agricultural tractors as prescribed by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(c) The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall also
adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the testing of tractors as published by
the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Agricultural
Engineers.
(b) Cooperate with the United States Department of Commerce when
planning and conducting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
testing;
(c) Conduct offsite tractor tests; and
(d) Submit and certify tractor test results to the federal government.
2-2703. Tractor model test results; board; duties.
After a tractor model has been duly tested by the University of Nebraska or by
any Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development test station, the board
shall submit the results of such test to the department. Prior to the issuance of a
permanent sales permit by the department to any person for the sale of a tractor model,
the board shall compare the test results with the manufacturer's representations as to
power, fuel, and other ratings of the tractor model. If any such representations are
found to be false, the board shall recommend that the department deny a permit for the
sale of such tractor model. Any representation which a person makes with regard to the
performance of its tractor at other than the customarily used power outlets shall be
subject to test at the option of the board.
2-2703.01. Supplemental sale permit; issuance; testing;
when required. Upon application by any person and payment of the fee
required in section 2-2705.01, the board may recommend to the department that a
supplemental permit be issued to such person for the sale of a new tractor model based
upon the official test results of a previous tractor model. The specifications and
performance representations of the new tractor model shall be compared to the official
test results of the previous tractor model, and if there are no substantial changes in
specifications, performance representations, and the capacity of the new tractor model
to meet such specifications and representations of performance, the board shall
recommend to the department the issuance of a supplemental permit. The board may
require further testing of the new tractor model upon which a permit is sought and may
require the person making application to provide for reimbursement for the cost of such
tests pursuant to section 2-2705. If further testing is performed, the board shall certify
the results of such tests and forward them to the department.
2-2705. Tractor model tests; fees; University of Nebraska
Tractor Test Cash Fund; created; use; investment. Application to the
board for the testing of a tractor model by the University of Nebraska shall be
accompanied by the fee prescribed in section 2-2705.01 and such fee as is prescribed
by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska as a partial reimbursement for
making the application.
Fees collected for the testing of tractors by the Nebraska Tractor Testing
Laboratory shall be credited to the University of Nebraska Tractor Test Cash Fund,
which fund is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the Nebraska Tractor Testing
Laboratory to defray the expenses of testing tractors. Any accrued interest shall also be
credited to the fund, except that the cash carryover of such fund from one biennium to
the next biennium shall not exceed, by more than fifteen percent, the total cash fund
expenditures for the average of the five preceding years. Any amount in excess of such
fifteen percent shall be forwarded to the University of Nebraska. Any money in the fund
available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the
Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.
The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska may establish and change
from time to time as it determines advisable a schedule of fees for such tractor tests,
except that such fee schedule shall not include the application fee prescribed in section
2-2705.01.
2-2705.01. Application fee; Tractor Permit Cash Fund;
created; use; investment. There is hereby imposed a fee of fifty dollars for
each application for any permit made to the board pursuant to sections 2-2701 to
2-2711. Such fee shall be in addition to the fees provided by section 2-2705 and shall
be paid to the department. All fees collected by the department pursuant to this section
shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Tractor Permit Cash Fund,
which fund is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the department to defray the
expenses of administering sections 2-2701 to 2-2711. Any money in the fund available
for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to sections
72-1237 to 72-1269.
2-2706. Tractor model; failure to meet specifications; retesting
permitted; effect on sale of other models; permit specify model. The
failure of any tractor model to meet the specifications and representations made by the
applicant shall not prevent the applicant from placing on the market other tractor models
that do comply with the permit requirements of sections 2-2701 to 2-2711. Any tractor
model that fails in the official test to meet the applicant's own specifications and
representations may be retested upon submission of a new test application and the fees
prescribed in sections 2-2705 and 2-2705.01. Each and every permit issued under
sections 2-2701 to 2-2711 shall specify the model or models included in such permit to
sell.
2-2707. Tractor model tests; report; publication; public
record. The report of the official test required by section 2-2701 shall
be published by the board and made available in the Agricultural Engineering
Department of the University of Nebraska and in such other places as may be
designated by the board. All information pertaining to the official testing of a tractor
shall be public record and available for inspection during normal business hours.
2-2708. Tractor model tests results; improper use;
penalty. No person shall use the results of such tests in such manner
as would cause it to appear that the University of Nebraska or the department intended
to recommend the use of any given tractor model in preference to any other model. For
any violation of this section the department may suspend any permit issued to that
person or deny such person the right of obtaining future permits to sell tractors in the
state.
2-2709. Tractor model testing order; discrimination prohibited;
exception. Except when a temporary permit has been issued pursuant
to subsection (2) of section 2-2701, tractors shall be tested by the board in the order in
which they are presented for such tests, and no discrimination shall be made for or
against any person in any manner whatsoever. Complaints alleging a violation of this
section shall be heard by the department.
2-2710. Sales without permit; penalty. Any
person selling a current tractor model for use in the State of Nebraska without a permit
issued by the department for such tractor model shall be required to repurchase any
such tractor model sold in Nebraska for which a permit has not been issued.
2-2711. Department; enforcement; rules and
regulations. The department shall have full authority to enforce
sections 2-2701 to 2-2711 both by denial of a permit to sell tractors in the state and by
injunctive relief in the district court having jurisdiction. The department shall adopt and
promulgate rules and regulations as are necessary to enforce the intent and purposes
of such sections.
(a) If a tractor model upon which a temporary permit has been issued
was not submitted for the official test and approval on the mutually agreed-upon date,
the person to whom the temporary permit was issued shall repurchase any such tractor
sold in Nebraska under the temporary permit; and
(a) The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall adopt and
promulgate rules and regulations setting forth codes for the official testing of tractors.
(2) In addition to the powers and duties prescribed in sections 2-2701 to
2-2711, the University of Nebraska shall have the power to:
(a) Authorize the use of the Nebraska Tractor Testing Laboratory
facilities to conduct Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development testing;