SF 1974

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to commerce; regulating the operating hours 
  1.3             of motor fuel franchises; granting motor fuel 
  1.4             retailers the option to purchase from wholesalers 
  1.5             other than the refiner; proposing coding for new law 
  1.6             in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 80C. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [80C.147] [HOURS OF OPERATION.] 
  1.9      A marketing agreement may not include a provision requiring 
  1.10  a franchisee to keep the franchisee's service station open for 
  1.11  business for any specified number of hours per day or days per 
  1.12  week, or for any specified hours of the day or days of the week. 
  1.13     Sec. 2.  [80C.148] [MOTOR FUEL WHOLESALING; RETAILER'S 
  1.14  PURCHASE OPTION.] 
  1.15     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purposes of this 
  1.16  section, the following terms have the meanings given them: 
  1.17     (1) "motor fuel" means gasoline, diesel fuel, gasohol, and 
  1.18  all other refined fuels designated as motor fuel in 
  1.19  self-propelled vehicles designated primarily for use on public 
  1.20  streets, roads, and highways; 
  1.21     (2) "refiner" means a person engaged in the refining, 
  1.22  manufacturing, producing, or processing of oil or oil products, 
  1.23  or the refining, manufacturing, or processing of motor fuel; 
  1.24     (3) "retailer" means a person who operates a motor fuel 
  1.25  facility that offers motor fuel for sale to the public; 
  1.26     (4) "wholesaler" means a person engaged in the wholesale 
  2.1   sale of motor fuel who is not a refiner. 
  2.2      Subd. 2.  [RETAILER'S PURCHASE OPTION.] A refiner doing 
  2.3   business in the state of Minnesota may not deny to a retailer, 
  2.4   who is authorized by the refiner to purchase motor fuel directly 
  2.5   from the refiner, the option of purchasing motor fuel from a 
  2.6   wholesaler who makes available to that retailer motor fuel of 
  2.7   identical grade and quality purchased from the same refiner. 
  2.8      Subd. 3.  [MINIMUM PURCHASE.] A provision of a motor fuel 
  2.9   franchise that contains a minimum purchase requirement for motor 
  2.10  fuel may be satisfied by purchases of motor fuel either from the 
  2.11  refiner or from a wholesaler who purchases motor fuel of 
  2.12  identical grade and quality from the same refiner. 
  2.13     Subd. 4.  [MAXIMUM PURCHASE PROVISIONS.] A refiner who has 
  2.14  motor fuel available to supply retailers shall make motor fuel 
  2.15  available to a wholesaler to allow the wholesaler to provide 
  2.16  motor fuel to retailers who have contracts or agreements with 
  2.17  that refiner to sell that refiner's motor fuel notwithstanding 
  2.18  any motor fuel maximum gallonage purchase limitation in any 
  2.19  contract or agreement between the refiner and the wholesaler.  
  2.20  No refiner shall enforce a maximum motor fuel purchase provision 
  2.21  in a contract or agreement with a wholesaler to prevent a 
  2.22  wholesaler from supplying a retailer who has a contract or 
  2.23  agreement with that refiner to sell that refiner's motor fuel, 
  2.24  when the refiner has motor fuel available to directly supply 
  2.25  that retailer. 
  2.26     Subd. 5.  [PROHIBITED PRACTICES.] No refiner shall do 
  2.27  anything directly or indirectly to prohibit or encourage a 
  2.28  wholesaler to refuse to sell motor fuel to a retailer.  No 
  2.29  refiner shall take any action to directly or indirectly 
  2.30  circumvent or defeat the provisions of this section including, 
  2.31  without limitation, actions which discriminate between retailers 
  2.32  in the state of Minnesota and retailers supplied by the refiner 
  2.33  in other states. 
  2.34     Subd. 6.  [ENFORCEMENT.] The attorney general or an 
  2.35  aggrieved party may institute a civil action in the district 
  2.36  court for an injunction prohibiting a violation of this 
  3.1   section.  It is no defense to the action that the state or the 
  3.2   aggrieved party has adequate remedies at law. 
  3.3      Subd. 7.  [APPLICATION.] This section applies only to 
  3.4   agreements entered into, or modified, or extended after the 
  3.5   effective date of this section. 
  3.6      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
  3.7      Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  3.8   enactment.  Section 1 applies to marketing agreements entered 
  3.9   into or renewed, extended, or modified on or after that date.