AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 5-04-02 and 5-04-14 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to wholesaler and brewer relations.
SB 2136 amends North Dakota’s beer distribution laws governing brewer-wholesaler relationships. The bill expands and clarifies the list of practices a brewer may not use to pressure a beer wholesaler, including inducing acceptance of unordered products, threatening contract termination to force unlawful conduct, limiting a wholesaler’s ability to carry other brewers’ products, requiring confidential competitive-brand information, failing to provide a written contract, and compelling or forbidding use of a business-to-business electronic commerce platform.
The bill also updates the statute addressing the sale of a brewer. It provides that, absent good cause, a purchaser of a brewer who continues operating as a brewer assumes the existing agreement terms and conditions, and it defines “purchase” broadly to include stock sales, asset sales, mergers, leases, transfers, and consolidations. Overall, the measure is aimed at preserving continuity in brewer-wholesaler contracts and preventing coercive changes in distribution relationships after ownership changes.
SB 2136 would amend sections 5-04-02 and 5-04-14 of the North Dakota Century Code, strengthening statutory protections for beer wholesalers and clarifying obligations when a brewer is sold or reorganized. It affects brewers, beer wholesalers, and successor purchasers of brewing businesses by limiting coercive contract practices and requiring continuity of existing agreements unless good cause exists.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the legislative process. It passed the Senate 46-0 with one absent and the House 92-0 with two absent, indicating unanimous approval among voting members. No committee transcripts were provided, but the voting record suggests general agreement with the bill’s regulatory clarifications and protections.
No significant opposition is evident in the available record. The main policy issues embedded in the bill are the scope of brewer restrictions on wholesalers and the extent to which a purchaser of a brewer must honor existing distribution agreements. Any potential contention would likely center on balancing brewer business flexibility against wholesaler protections, especially regarding contract renewal, exclusivity-like conditions, and use of electronic commerce platforms, but no recorded debate or dissent is available here.