1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to restraint of trade; prohibiting sales of gasoline at grossly excessive 
1.3 	price; authorizing expedited rulemaking; imposing penalties; amending 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 325D.071; 325D.072; 325D.71.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 325D.071, is amended to read:
1.7 	325D.071 VIOLATIONS; PENALTIES.
1.8 	Any person, firm, or corporation, whether as principal, agent, officer, or director, 
1.9 	for itself, or for another person, firm, or corporation, willfully violating the provisions of 
1.10 	~~sections~~ section325D.03~~,~~;325D.04~~, and~~;325D.05; or 325D.71, subdivision 2,  shall be 
1.11 	guilty of a misdemeanor. 
1.12 	Any person who, either as director, officer, or agent of any firm or corporation or as 
1.13 	agent of any person violating the provisions of ~~sections~~ section325D.03~~,~~;325D.04~~, and~~;
1.14 	325D.05~~,~~; or 325D.71, subdivision 2, knowingly assists or aids directly or indirectly in 
1.15 	such violation shall be equally responsible therefor. 

1.16 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 325D.072, is amended to read:
1.17 	325D.072 INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.
1.18 	In addition to the penalties provided in section  325D.071, the courts of this state are 
1.19 	hereby vested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of sections  325D.02 to  
1.20 	325D.07; and 325D.71, subdivision 2. Any person, partnership, corporation, or association 
1.21 	damaged, or who is threatened with loss or injury, by reason of a violation of these sections 
1.22 	shall be entitled to sue for and have injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction 
1.23 	against any damage or threatened loss or injury by reason of a violation thereof and for the 
2.1 	amount of the actual damages, if any. In order to obtain such injunctive relief it shall not 
2.2 	be necessary to allege or prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist. 
2.3 	No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing books, 
2.4 	papers, contracts, agreements, and documents in any case or proceedings instituted or 
2.5 	brought under the provisions of sections  325D.02 to  325D.072; and 325D.71, subdivision 
2.6 	2, or in obedience to a subpoena, in any such case or proceedings, on the ground or for 
2.7 	the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of the 
2.8 	person may tend to criminate or subject the person to a penalty or forfeiture; but no person 
2.9 	shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any 
2.10 	transaction, matter, or thing concerning which the person may testify, or produce evidence, 
2.11 	documentary or otherwise, in any such case or proceedings, or in obedience to a subpoena, 
2.12 	in any such case or proceedings. 

2.13 	Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 325D.71, is amended to read:
2.14 	325D.71 UNLAWFUL GASOLINE SALES.
2.15 		Subdivision 1.Sales below cost. Any offer for sale of gasoline by a retailer by way 
2.16 	of posted price or indicating meter that is below cost, as defined by section  325D.01, 
2.17 	subdivision 5, clause (3), is a violation of section  325D.04, except that the criminal 
2.18 	penalties in section  325D.071 do not apply. In addition to the penalties for violations 
2.19 	and the remedies provided for injured parties set forth elsewhere in this chapter, the 
2.20 	commissioner of commerce may use the authority under section  45.027 for the purpose of 
2.21 	preventing violations of this section. A retailer who sells gasoline at the same or higher 
2.22 	legally posted price of a competitor in the same market area, on the same day, is not in 
2.23 	violation of this section. 
2.24 	A retailer who offers gasoline for sale at a price below cost as part of a promotion 
2.25 	at an individual location for no more than three days in any calendar quarter is not in 
2.26 	violation of this section.
2.27 		Subd. 2.Sales at grossly excessive price. No person may charge a wholesale or 
2.28 	retail price for gasoline that grossly exceeds:
2.29 	(1) the price at which gasoline is sold in this state by another; or
2.30 	(2) the average price at which motor vehicle fuel was sold in this state in the 21-day 
2.31 	period immediately preceding a sale of the gasoline.

2.32 	Sec. 4. RULEMAKING.
 3.1 	The commissioner of commerce shall adopt rules using an expedited process under 
3.2 	Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, to define "grossly exceeds" for purposes of the 
3.3 	prohibition in Minnesota Statutes, section 325D.71.