Senate Bill 1358 - Summary

• Clarifies that whether a dealer agreement allows an event, act, or omission does not automatically determine if it results in a substantial change in the dealer's competitive circumstances.

• Revises notice requirements for termination or non-renewal of dealer agreements to specify "dealer's competitive circumstances" instead of "dealer agreement" and clarifies notice timing in relation to cure periods.

• Requires suppliers to provide written notice one (1) year in advance before terminating, refusing to renew, or substantially changing a dealer's competitive circumstances based on failure to achieve market penetration levels.

• Requires suppliers to provide fair and reasonable efforts to assist dealers in achieving required market penetration, including maintaining adequate inventory and not withholding programs available to other dealers.

• Establishes that suppliers bear the burden of proving in writing that a retailer's trade area does not afford sufficient sales potential to support the retailer, with termination effective 180 days from notice date.