Minnesota Session Laws - 2001, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 129-S.F.No. 970 
                  An act relating to trade regulations; prohibiting 
                  gasoline sales below cost; providing enforcement 
                  authority; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
                  325D.01, subdivision 5, and by adding subdivisions; 
                  proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
                  chapter 325D. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 325D.01, 
        subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5.  [COST.] The term "cost", as applied to the 
        wholesale or retail vendor, means: 
           (1) The actual current delivered invoice or replacement 
        cost, whichever is lower, without deducting customary cash 
        discounts, plus any excise or sales taxes imposed on such 
        commodity, goods, wares or merchandise subsequent to the 
        purchase thereof and prior to the resale thereof, plus the cost 
        of doing business at that location by the vendor; 
           (2) Where a manufacturer publishes a list price and 
        discounts, in determining such "cost" the manufacturer's 
        published list price then currently in effect, less the 
        published trade discount but without deducting the customary 
        cash discount, plus any excise or sales taxes imposed on such 
        commodity, goods, wares or merchandise subsequent to the 
        purchase thereof and prior to the resale thereof, plus the cost 
        of doing business by the vendor shall be prima facie evidence of 
        "cost.;" 
           (3) For purposes of gasoline offered for sale by way of 
        posted price or indicating meter by a retailer, at a retail 
        location where gasoline is dispensed into passenger automobiles 
        and trucks by the consumer, "cost" means the average terminal 
        price on the day, at the terminal from which the most recent 
        supply of gasoline delivered to the retail location was 
        acquired, plus all applicable state and federal excise taxes and 
        fees, plus the lesser of six percent or eight cents. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 325D.01, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 11.  [TERMINAL.] "Terminal" means a storage facility 
        to which gasoline is shipped by pipeline, barge, or rail, and 
        from which gasoline is subsequently transferred into motor 
        vehicles for delivery to other locations.  For purposes of this 
        chapter, an oil refinery is also a terminal. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 325D.01, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 12.  [AVERAGE TERMINAL PRICE.] "Average terminal 
        price" means the arithmetic mean of all prices for an individual 
        grade of gasoline at a terminal as published by a nationally 
        recognized petroleum price reporting service. 
           Sec. 4.  [325D.71] [UNLAWFUL GASOLINE SALES.] 
           Any offer for sale of gasoline by a retailer by way of 
        posted price or indicating meter that is below cost, as defined 
        by section 325D.01, subdivision 5, clause (3), is a violation of 
        section 325D.04, except that the criminal penalties in section 
        325D.071 do not apply.  In addition to the penalties for 
        violations and the remedies provided for injured parties set 
        forth elsewhere in this chapter, the commissioner of commerce 
        may use the authority under section 45.027 for the purpose of 
        preventing violations of this section.  A retailer who sells 
        gasoline at the same or higher legally posted price of a 
        competitor in the same market area, on the same day, is not in 
        violation of this section. 
           A retailer who offers gasoline for sale at a price below 
        cost as part of a promotion at an individual location for no 
        more than three days in any calendar quarter is not in violation 
        of this section. 
           Presented to the governor May 17, 2001 
           Signed by the governor May 21, 2001, 10:40 a.m.