Plain English Breakdown
The official text confirms all six conditions must be met for the exception to apply.
HB2848: Rules for Grocery Store Land Restrictions
This bill makes most land restrictions that stop grocery stores from operating on a property invalid, unless the store is moving to a nearby location under specific conditions.
What This Bill Does
- Makes covenants or rules blocking grocery stores and supermarkets void and unenforceable.
- Allows an exception if all six listed conditions for moving a store are met exactly.
- Requires that the land was used by the seller to operate a grocery store within six months before the restriction began.
- Requires the seller to have bought new land to open a similar grocery store nearby.
- States the new store must be similar in size and product selection to the closed store.
- Mandates that the move happens within one year after the original store closes.
- Limits any restriction on the old property to less than eighteen months after closure.
- States this law does not apply to agreements made before its effective date.
Who It Names or Affects
- Sellers of land who previously operated grocery stores or supermarkets
- Buyers of land designated for retail food sales
- Property owners subject to restrictive covenants on their land
Terms To Know
- Restrictive covenant
- A rule written in a property deed that limits how the land can be used.
- Discontinued site
- The piece of land where a grocery store closed and is no longer operating, as defined by the bill.
- Relocated store
- A new grocery store opened on different land after the original one closes, as defined by the bill.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not apply to agreements signed before it becomes effective.
- The specific calendar date this bill takes effect is not listed in the provided text, though it states the act operates immediately upon passage as an emergency measure.