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BILL NUMBER:S606

TITLE OF BILL: An  act  to  amend  the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to authorizing certain wholesalers authorized to sell beer at retail  for off premises consumption to sell certain goods

PURPOSE: To  allow Class C license bearing beer wholesalers to sell grocery and pantry items.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 provides that certain beer wholesalers  will  no  longer  be prohibited   from   selling  various  goods  other  than  alcohol  and beverages, provided that no more  than  twenty  five  percent  of  the public floor space of the licensed premises is devoted to doing so.

Section 2 provides for an immediate effective date.

JUSTIFICATION: Bearers  of 'C licenses', those issued prior to July 1, 1960 under the Alcoholic Beverage Control law are currently prohibited  from  selling anything  other  than  beer,  tobacco, water, mixers and non-alcoholic snack foods. There are only 400  "C  licensees"  in  New  York  State, largely  in New York City who are more engaged in retail activity than beer wholesaling.

These beer distributors have been negatively impacted by the  creation of  exclusive  franchise  agreements between certain major brewers and their distributors starting in the early 1980s.  Bearers of C licenses can enhance their business model by increasing  retail  privileges  in addition to existing beer distribution privileges.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2010:  S.8094/A.11420

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

606

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

(PREFILED)

January 5, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
  ment Operations

AN ACT to amend the alcoholic  beverage  control  law,  in  relation  to
  authorizing  certain wholesalers authorized to sell beer at retail for
  off premises consumption to sell certain goods

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 104 of the alco-
holic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 223  of  the  laws  of
2002, is amended to read as follows:
  (a)  No wholesaler shall be engaged in any other business on the prem-
ises to be licensed; except that nothing contained in this chapter shall
(1) prohibit a beer wholesaler from (i) acquiring,  storing  or  selling
non-alcoholic  snack foods, as defined in paragraph (b) of this subdivi-
sion, (ii) manufacturing, bottling, storing,  or  selling  non-alcoholic
carbonated  beverages, (iii) manufacturing, storing or selling non-alco-
holic non-carbonated soft drinks, mineral waters, spring waters,  drink-
ing  water, non-taxable malt or cereal beverages, juice drinks, fruit or
vegetable juices, ice, liquid beverage mixes and dry or frozen  beverage
mixes, (iv) acquiring, storing or selling wine products, (v) the sale of
promotional items on such premises, or (vi) the sale of tobacco products
at  retail  by  wholesalers  who  are  licensed  to  sell beer and other
products at retail, (2) prohibit a wholesaler authorized  to  sell  wine
from manufacturing, acquiring or selling wine merchandise, as defined in
paragraph  (d)  of this subdivision, [or] (3) prohibit a licensed winery
or licensed farm winery from engaging in the business of a  wine  whole-
saler  for  New York state labeled wines produced by any licensed winery
or licensed farm winery or prohibit such wine wholesaler from exercising
any of its rights pursuant to sections seventy-six and seventy-six-a  of

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03357-01-1
S. 606                              2

this  chapter  provided  that the operation of such beer and wine whole-
salers business shall be subject to such rules and  regulations  as  the
liquor  authority  may prescribe, OR (4) PROHIBIT THE HOLDER OF A WHOLE-
SALER'S  LICENSE ISSUED OR RENEWED PRIOR TO JULY FIRST, NINETEEN HUNDRED
SIXTY AND IS THEREAFTER CONTINUOUSLY RENEWED AND/OR  TRANSFERRED,  WHICH
LICENSE  AUTHORIZES  THE  HOLDER  THEREOF TO SELL BEER AT RETAIL FOR OFF
PREMISES CONSUMPTION, FROM ACQUIRING, STORING OR SELLING,  AND  DEVOTING
NOT  MORE  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OF  THE PUBLIC FLOOR SPACE OF THE
LICENSED PREMISES FOR THE DISPLAY  AND  SALE  AT  RETAIL  OF  (I)  FOOD,
INCLUDING  ALL  MATERIAL,  WHETHER  LIQUID,  SOLID OR MIXED, AND WHETHER
SIMPLE OR COMPOUND, USED OR INTENDED FOR CONSUMPTION BY HUMAN BEINGS  OR
DOMESTIC  ANIMALS NORMALLY KEPT AS HOUSEHOLD PETS, AND ALL SUBSTANCES OR
INGREDIENTS TO BE ADDED THERETO FOR ANY PURPOSE,  (II)  NAPKINS,  FACIAL
TISSUES, TOILET TISSUES, FOIL WRAPPING, PLASTIC WRAPPING, PAPER TOWELING
OR DISPOSABLE PLATES, (III) DETERGENTS, SOAPS OR OTHER CLEANSING AGENTS,
(IV)  NON-PRESCRIPTION  DRUGS, FEMALE HYGIENE PRODUCTS OR TOILETRIES, OR
(V) SEASONAL SPECIALTY ITEMS, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT  NOT  BE  LIMITED
TO, CHARCOAL, BARBECUE GRILLS, BARBECUE SUPPLIES, PROPANE GAS, FIREWOOD,
ROCK  SALT,  BEACH  UMBRELLAS,  SUNGLASSES,  SUNBLOCK  AND SUCH ITEMS AS
PROVIDED BY THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE LIQUOR AUTHORITY.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.