Manufacturers and wholesalers allowed to engage in the sale of nonalcoholic products.

A bill for an act

relating to liquor; allowing manufacturers and wholesalers to engage in the sale

of nonalcoholic products; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 340A.308.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 340A.308, is amended to read:

340A.308 PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section
340A.301
, no brewer or malt liquor wholesaler

may directly or indirectly, or through an affiliate or subsidiary company, or through an

officer, director, stockholder, or partner:

(1) give, or lend money, credit, or other thing of value to a retailer;

(2) give, lend, lease, or sell furnishing or equipment to a retailer;

(3) have an interest in a retail license; or

(4) be bound for the repayment of a loan to a retailer.

(b) No retailer may solicit any equipment, fixture, supplies, money, or other thing of

value from a brewer or malt liquor wholesaler if furnishing of these items by the brewer or

wholesaler is prohibited by law and the retailer knew or had reason to know that the

furnishing is prohibited by law.

(c) This section does not prohibit a manufacturer or wholesaler from:

(1) furnishing, lending, or renting to a retailer outside signs, of a cost of up to $400

excluding installation and repair costs;

(2) furnishing, lending, or renting to a retailer inside signs and other promotional material,

of a cost of up to $300 in a year;

(3) furnishing to or maintaining for a retailer equipment for dispensing malt liquor,

including tap trailers, cold plates and other dispensing equipment, of a cost of up to $100

per tap in a year;

(4) using or renting property owned continually since November 1, 1933, for the purpose

of selling intoxicating or 3.2 percent malt liquor at retail;

(5) extending customary commercial credit to a retailer in connection with a sale of

nonalcoholic beverages only, or engaging in cooperative advertising agreements with a

retailer in connection with the sale of nonalcoholic beverages only; or

(6) in the case of a wholesaler, with the prior written consent of the commissioner, selling

beer on consignment to a holder of a temporary license under section
340A.403, subdivision

2
, or
340A.404, subdivision 10
.

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(d) A manufacturer or wholesaler who is engaged in the business of selling nonalcoholic

products may engage in the lawful trade practices of the nonalcoholic product industry,

provided the sales and practices surrounding the nonalcoholic products are not used as an

unlawful inducement to purchase alcoholic beverages. This paragraph does not apply to

products regulated by chapter 342.

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