March Madness at Capitol Brings Hope for Relief from Wholesalers
In March folks in Albany are not focused on which teams will get to the Final Four, they’re pushing towards a deadline of April 1st to adopt a state budget. And while the Governor’s budget did not include any changes to the ABC law, the State Senate’s budget proposal includes a proposal to allow restaurants and taverns to make limited purchases of liquor and wine from liquor stores. The Senate’s proposal, at the urging of Senator Skoufis, puts this issue on the table during the three-way talks to reach a final budget agreement.
Over the next several weeks the Assembly, Senate, and the Governor will discuss the differences between their proposals and try to find common ground. In these discussions it takes three to tango – all parties have to be on board for a proposal to be included – and right now we have two of the three. In addition to the Senate, this proposal has the strong support of the Executive with SLA Chair Lily Fan leading the charge. As the negotiations begin, we’re two-thirds of the way there – we just need the Assembly’s support.
Gaining the Assembly’s support for including this provision in the state budget is a high hill to climb. The Assembly generally balks at including policy unrelated to the state’s fiscal plan in the budget and they’ve been reluctant to advance changes to the Alcoholic Beverage Control law. The proposal is supported by Assemblyman Stirpe who chairs the Committee on Economic Development which has jurisdiction over alcohol issues. We need to strengthen his resolve and find additional supporters within the Assembly Democratic Majority to push the Assembly leadership to include this in the budget.
We’ve begun the work here at the Capitol. Our Association is joining in partnership with the NYS Restaurant Association, the NYS Latino Restaurant Bar and Lounge Association, and the NYC Hospitality Alliance to get the word out to Members of the Assembly. We could use your help:
- Call your Assembly representative, tell them you support the Senate proposal (Part HHH of S3008-B) to allow you to purchase liquor and wine from liquor stores. You can find your Assemblymember online at nyassembly.gov/mem/search or call our office for assistance.
- Call Assemblymember Stirpe’s office (518-455-4505), thank him for his support for this proposal, and urge him to ask the Assembly Speaker to include Part HHH of S3008-B in the final budget.
- Call Assembly Speaker Heastie’s office (518-455-3791) and urge him to include Part HHH of S3008-B the final budget
The budget negotiations start in earnest this week with a goal of getting a final budget by April 1st. That gives us time, but not a lot of time, to get this sensible proposal across the finish line. If this bill becomes law, you will no longer have to worry that you could lose your license for grabbing a few bottles from the local liquor store when you run out of product in between regular deliveries. That happens to every licensee at some point, which is why we’ve made this issue a priority.
We’re ever so close. Please make a few phone calls or send a few emails to make sure the Assembly gets the message. Let them know:
- in the hospitality industry being “out-of-stock” isn’t an option
- having the products your customers demand is the essence of hospitality
- being sanctioned by the SLA for doing this is a very real threat
- this proposal is also good for liquor stores – locally owned, independent, small businesses – who will gain additional sales further strengthening the local economy
As noted above we have time, but not a lot of it, so let’s get to work!