SB472 Summary

• Creates the Jefferson County Wine Franchise Jobs Protection Act to regulate business relations between wine suppliers and wholesalers in Jefferson County, maintaining a three-tier distribution system and preserving jobs in the wine industry.

• Requires suppliers to provide written agreements designating exclusive sales territories to wholesalers and prohibits suppliers from fixing wholesale prices, coercing wholesalers, requiring exclusive brands, or taking retaliatory actions.

• Establishes protections for wholesaler transfers to designated members (family/heirs) without supplier approval and requires suppliers to meet nondiscriminatory standards when approving transfers to other parties; suppliers must provide 60 days' written notice before terminating agreements.

• Requires suppliers to pay wholesalers reasonable compensation for diminished business value when terminating agreements without good cause; provides optional voluntary arbitration for disputes over compensation amounts.

• Creates civil liability for violations including actual damages, court costs, and attorney fees; allows punitive damages for bad faith conduct; permits legal actions in Jefferson County Circuit Court or U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.