View Bill Status
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
H0333.....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
BIOFUELS - Adds to existing law relating to biofuels to require that
certain franchise agreements comply with specific federal law; to provide
that certain supply agreements and contracts shall be null and void; to
provide exceptions to applicability and to clarify application of
provisions; to provide for violations and penalties; and to provide that
the attorney general and specified prosecutors shall render assistance in
executing provisions and prosecuting cases.
03/28 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
Rpt prt - to W/M
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 333
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO BIOFUELS; AMENDING CHAPTER 1, TITLE 29, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDI-
3 TION OF A NEW SECTION 29-116, IDAHO CODE, TO DECLARE POLICY, TO DEFINE
4 TERMS, TO REQUIRE THAT CERTAIN FRANCHISE AGREEMENTS COMPLY WITH SPECIFIC
5 FEDERAL LAW, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN SUPPLY AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS SHALL
6 BE NULL AND VOID, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS TO APPLICABILITY, TO CLARIFY
7 APPLICATION OF PROVISIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES, AND TO
8 PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SPECIFIED PROSECUTORS SHALL RENDER
9 ASSISTANCE IN EXECUTING PROVISIONS AND PROSECUTING CASES.
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
11 SECTION 1. That Chapter 1, Title 29, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
12 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
13 ignated as Section 29-116, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
14 29-116. IDAHO RENEWABLE FUEL CONTRACTS AND CONSUMER CHOICE. (1) It is the
15 policy of the state of Idaho to encourage use of renewable biofuels that are
16 agriculturally derived thereby allowing consumers the choice to purchase
17 renewable biofuels from fuel retail dealers.
18 (2) As used in this section:
19 (a) "Biofuel" means any renewable fuel offered for sale as a motor vehi-
20 cle fuel that is agriculturally derived and meets applicable American
21 Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards as required in section
22 37-2506, Idaho Code, including, but not limited to, ethanol, and ethanol-
23 blended fuel;
24 (b) "Distributor" means any person who receives motor fuel in this state,
25 and includes a special fuels dealer. Any person who sells or receives gas-
26 eous fuels will not be considered a distributor unless the gaseous fuel is
27 delivered into the fuel supply tank or tanks of a motor vehicle not then
28 owned or controlled by him;
29 (c) "Ethanol blended fuel" means any conventional motor fuel blended with
30 not to exceed ten percent (10%) ethanol;
31 (d) "Licensed distributor" means any distributor who has obtained a
32 license under the provisions of section 63-2427A, Idaho Code;
33 (e) "Person" means any individual, firm, fiduciary, copartnership, asso-
34 ciation, limited liability company, corporation, governmental instrumen-
35 tality including the state and all of its agencies and political subdivi-
36 sions, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, and the plural
37 as well as the singular number, unless the intent to give a more limited
38 meaning is disclosed by the context. Whenever used in any clause prescrib-
39 ing and imposing a fine or imprisonment, or both, the term "person" as
40 applied to an association means the partners or members, and as applied to
41 corporations, the officers;
42 (f) "Refiner" means any person who controls the franchise agreement
43 between a distributor or licensed distributor and a retail dealer, the
2
1 franchise agreement the refiner has directly with a distributor or
2 licensed distributor, or the franchise agreement the refiner has directly
3 with a retail dealer; and
4 (g) "Retail dealer" means any person engaged in the retail sale of motor
5 fuels, including biofuels, to the public or for use in the state.
6 (3) Franchise agreements as defined in section 29-110(3), Idaho Code,
7 between a conventional motor fuel or biofuel franchiser and a franchisee, or
8 any conventional motor fuel or biofuel supply agreement or supply contract
9 between a refiner and distributor or licensed distributor, or between a dis-
10 tributor or licensed distributor and retail dealer, or directly between the
11 refiner and retail dealer, entered into after the effective date of this act
12 must be in full compliance with 15 U.S.C. section 26a and this section.
13 (4) As it pertains to biofuel, a provision of any supply agreement or
14 contract between a refiner and distributor or licensed distributor, or a dis-
15 tributor or licensed distributor and a retail dealer, or a refiner and a
16 retail dealer, shall be null and void in the event any provision:
17 (a) Prohibits a distributor or licensed distributor from blending the
18 refiner's fuel with ethanol and providing biofuels to a retail dealer upon
19 the request of a retail dealer with whom the distributor or licensed dis-
20 tributor or refiner has an agreement or contract so long as no other terms
21 of the agreement or contract are violated;
22 (b) Prohibits a retail dealer from purchasing and reselling biofuel from
23 a distributor or licensed distributor as set forth in this section;
24 (c) Limits the quantity of such biofuel to be purchased from the distrib-
25 utor or licensed distributor;
26 (d) Prohibits or limits the use of a franchise refiner's trademarks, a
27 retail dealer's location, existing pumps, tanks or other related facili-
28 ties for the sale or resale of such biofuel so long as the biofuel is pur-
29 chased from the refiner or distributor or licensed distributor with whom
30 the retail dealer has an agreement or contract; or
31 (e) Prohibits or limits the use of credit instruments in the retail sale
32 of such biofuel so long as the credit instruments for retail sale are
33 those of the refiner or those approved by a refiner.
34 (5) The prohibitions in this section shall not apply to any refiner, dis-
35 tributor or licensed distributor who makes available sufficient supplies of
36 biofuel to satisfy a retail dealer's request for biofuels and such biofuels
37 are made available on terms and conditions which are at least equivalent to
38 the terms and conditions on which conventional motor fuel products of such
39 refiner, distributor or licensed distributor are made available. Nor shall the
40 prohibitions in this section apply if any refiner, distributor or licensed
41 distributor is, after a good faith effort, unable to comply with the request
42 for biofuels by a retail dealer due to fuel shortage, strike, natural disas-
43 ter, or any other circumstance beyond his control.
44 (6) Nothing in this section shall:
45 (a) Preclude any person, refiner, distributor or licensed distributor
46 from imposing a fee for credit on the sale or resale of biofuel if such
47 credit fee is equivalent in terms and conditions as that imposed on con-
48 ventional motor fuel products of such person, refiner, distributor or
49 licensed distributor;
50 (b) Preclude any person, refiner, distributor or licensed distributor
51 from requiring labeling of retail dealer pumps dispensing biofuel to indi-
52 cate such biofuel is not manufactured, blended, distributed, or sold by
53 such person or refiner;
54 (c) Preclude any person from issuing disclaimers of product liability for
55 damage where such disclaimers are consistent with state and federal label-
3
1 ing requirements;
2 (d) Require any person, refiner, distributor or licensed distributor to
3 provide advertising support for the biofuel;
4 (e) Require any person, refiner, distributor or licensed distributor, or
5 retail dealer to furnish or provide at their own expense any additional
6 pumps, tanks or other related facilities for the sale of biofuel;
7 (f) Remove the sole liability from the manufacturer of any biofuel compo-
8 nent which, although purchased in good faith by the distributor or
9 licensed distributor, does not meet ASTM standards; or
10 (g) Relieve the distributor or licensed distributor from liability for
11 contamination of any biofuel while in his possession which causes such
12 biofuel to not meet ASTM standards.
13 (7) Any distributor or licensed distributor found guilty of violating the
14 provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sub-
15 ject to a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). Provided further,
16 any distributor or licensed distributor remaining out of compliance with the
17 provisions of this section shall, after thirty (30) calendar days, be subject
18 to an additional civil penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each day that
19 they remain out of compliance.
20 (8) Any refiner found guilty of violating the provisions of this section
21 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed
22 five thousand dollars ($5,000). Provided further, any refiner remaining out of
23 compliance with the provisions of this section shall, after thirty (30) calen-
24 dar days, be subject to an additional civil penalty of one thousand dollars
25 ($1,000) for each day that they remain out of compliance.
26 (9) It shall be the duty of the attorney general, and the prosecuting
27 attorney of the county in which a violation of the provisions of this section
28 has occurred, to render all assistance in their power to execute the provi-
29 sions of this section and to prosecute cases arising under this section.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17160
The purpose of this legislation is to clarify that future
contracts between fuel suppliers and fuel retailers cannot
discriminate against bio-fuels. If a fuel retailer requests bio-
fuels for his customers, the distributor is authorized to provide
a bio-fuel for the franchise agreement. This legislation further
provides protection for fuel refiners, distributors and retailers
with respect to franchise agreements, and sets out penalties for
non-compliance.
FISCAL NOTE
No fiscal impact.
Contact
Name: Representative Mike Moyle
Representative Ken Roberts
Phone: 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 333