To prohibit certain transfers or assignments of franchises, and to prohibit certain fixing or maintaining of motor fuel prices, under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act.

February 26, 2003

Mr. WYNN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

To prohibit certain transfers or assignments of franchises, and to prohibit certain fixing or maintaining of motor fuel prices, under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TRANSFER OR ASSIGNMENT OF FRANCHISE.

Section 102 of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2802) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(e) A franchisor of leased marketing premises shall not transfer or assign its interests in the franchise during the term of the franchise unless the franchisor, at least 45 days before the proposed transfer or assignment, has--

`(1) made a bona fide offer to sell, transfer, or assign to the franchisee the franchisor's interests in the leased marketing premises; or

`(2) if applicable, offered the franchisee a right of first refusal of at least 45 days duration of an offer, made by another, to purchase or acquire the franchisor's interests in the leased marketing premises.'.

SEC. 2. FEE SHIFTING PROVISIONS.

Section 105(d) of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2805(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(4)(A) Any provision of a franchise or marketing agreement whereby, in the event of litigation under this section between the parties, either party to the agreement must pay for the prevailing party's legal fees and expenses is null and void and shall not be enforced.

`(B) This paragraph shall apply to any litigation commenced after the date of the enactment of this subsection, regardless of when the franchise or marketing agreement was entered into.

`(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `legal fees and expenses' includes attorney fees, expert witness fees, electronic research expenses, copying expenses, paralegal expenses, courier and messenger expenses, travel expenses, deposition expenses, postage and shipping expenses, overtime expenses, telephone and facsimile expenses, court services expenses, document services expenses, litigation support expenses, and consultant expenses.'.

SEC. 3. RETAIL PRICE SETTING.

(a) AMENDMENT- Title I of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`RETAIL PRICES

`SEC. 107. It shall be a violation of this title for a refiner or distributor to fix or maintain the retail price of motor fuel at a retail outlet supplied by that refiner or distributor. This section shall not apply to retail outlets operated by the refiner or distributor.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- Subsections (a), (b), and (d) of section 105 of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2805(a), (b), and (d)) are amended by striking `102 or 103' each place it appears and inserting `102, 103, or 107'.

(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT- The table of contents of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 106 the following new item:

`Sec. 107. Retail prices.'.

END