HB445 - Montgomery County Wine Franchise Jobs Protection Act

• Creates the Montgomery County Wine Franchise Jobs Protection Act to regulate business relations between wine suppliers and wholesalers in Montgomery County.

• Requires suppliers to provide wholesalers with written agreements specifying exclusive sales territories and prohibits suppliers from fixing wholesale prices, coercing wholesalers, or interfering with transfers to qualified buyers.

• Establishes grounds for termination of agreements by suppliers including material non-compliance (with 30-day cure period plus 120-day compliance window), insolvency, license revocation, felony conviction, and intentional fraud.

• Permits wholesaler business transfers to designated family members without supplier consent, and to other qualified buyers if they meet nondiscriminatory standards; suppliers must provide written response within 30 days.

• Provides civil remedies including actual damages, attorney fees, and court costs; allows for voluntary arbitration to determine compensation for diminished business value when supplier violates the act.