The “Empire Wine Bill” (version 2.0) passed in the New York State Assembly on Wednesday, June 15th per the New York State Assembly website. The matching Senate bill, S07728, has not yet passed and shows no action on the bill’s page other than an entry for May 12, 2016.
The summary of the Assembly bill is as follows:
Relates to clarifying the basis upon which the state liquor authority has the authority to revoke, suspend or cancel a license or permit by excluding perceived violations of the laws of other states unless the conduct falls within certain exceptions and established standards in statute for the delivery of beverage alcohol.
As previously noted by On Reserve, these bills are very similar to the “Empire Wine Bill” that appeared in New York’s Assembly and Senate and 2015, which passed in both the Assembly and Senate, but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Cuomo at the end of 2015.
The proposed text found in A10248 and S07728 are similar to the prior bills (A05920Aand S04446A), but is organized somewhat differently and also adds three new conditions that were not present in either of the 2015 bills. Specifically, conditions three, four, and five were not present in the 2015 bills. Condition two was present in the 2015 bill, however the 2016 bill contains broader language and establishes “for cause” when a licensee is found to be in violation of another state’s law (assuming due process). The 2015 bill purportedly allowed for revocation of a license if a licensee was found in violation of another state’s laws and either (1) the conduct violated a specific chapter of the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, or (2) if the conduct had occurred in New York, it would have been a violation of the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. Condition two of the proposed 2016 bill is boarder in that it does not take into consideration whether such conduct outside of the State violated or would have violated (if the conduct had occurred in New York) the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. Instead, the second condition simply requires a finding of a violation of another state’s law and due process.
For more information on New York State wine or alcohol law, direct shipping, or establishing a New York beverage business, please contact Lindsey Zahn.
DISCLAIMER: This blog post is for general information purposes only, is not intended to constitute legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship results. Please consult your own attorney for legal advice.