930                                   LAWS OF MARYLAND                               Ch. 160

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendment,

Article 27 - Crimes and Punishments

Section 370

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1976 Replacement Volume and 1979 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That section(s) of the Annotated Code of Maryland
be repealed, amended, or enacted to read as follows:

Article 27 - Crimes and Punishments

[369A.

(a)  The General Assembly of Maryland while providing
for an exception in certain counties under certain
circumstances to the prohibitions of this section, finds
that franchise retail merchants as contrasted with
nonfranchise retail merchants have often in the past been
coerced by their franchising suppliers into the utilization
of the games, contests, lottery or other schemes or devices
subsequently prohibited by the enactment of this section,
and the General Assembly reaffirms its intention to prevent
such coercion by continuing the prohibition as applied to
franchise retail merchants as hereinafter defined.

(b)  A retail establishment regulated or licensed
pursuant to the provisions contained in Article 56 may not
use any game, contests, lottery or other scheme or device,
whereby a person or persons may receive gifts, prizes or
gratuities as determined by chance for the purpose of
promoting, furthering or advertising the sale of any product
or service of whatsoever nature or kind. The fact that no
purchase is required in order to participate in the game,
contest, lottery or scheme does not exclude the game,
contest, lottery or scheme from the provisions of this
section.

(2) This section may not be construed as
preventing any nonfranchise retail merchant from giving away
any prize or prizes by the act of drawing of a name or names
if no purchase or consideration is required to qualify for
the prize or prizes.

(c)  For the purpose of this section "franchise" means
an agreement between a distributor and a dealer under which
the dealer is granted the right to occupy premises owned,
leased or controlled by the distributor, for the purpose of
engaging in the retail sale of products of the distributor.]

370.

Any person or body corporate violating any of the
provisions of § 369 [or 369A] of this article shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof