Create Regional Liquor Offices

Section 1. Subdivisions 6 and 15 of section 3 of the alcoholic beverage control law, subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, are amended to read as follows:

6. "Board" or "local board" or "appropriate board" or "board having jurisdiction" shall mean the regional office of the state liquor authority having jurisdiction.

15. "Liquor authority" and "authority" mean the regional office of the state liquor authority having jurisdiction as provided for in this chapter.

§ 2. Section 10 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 297 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:

§ 10. State liquor authority. 1. There shall continue to be in the executive department an alcoholic beverage control division, the head of which shall be the state liquor authority [whose members shall consist of a chairman and two commissioners, all of whom shall be citizens and residents of the state] which shall consist of ten regional offices having jurisdiction over the following counties:

(a) Western New York, consisting of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara counties;

(b) Finger Lakes, consisting of Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties;

(c) Southern Tier, consisting of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins counties;

(d) Central New York, consisting of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties;

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD14311-01-8

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(e) Mohawk Valley, consisting of Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie counties;

(f) North Country, consisting of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties;

(g) Capital Region, consisting of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren and Washington counties;

(h) Mid-Hudson, consisting of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties;

(i) New York City, consisting of Bronx, Kings, New York, Richmond and Queens counties; and

(j) Long Island, consisting of Nassau and Suffolk counties.

2. The terms "state alcoholic beverage control board", "state board", "liquor authority", or "authority", wherever occurring in any of the provisions of this chapter or of any other law, or in any official books, records, instruments, rules or papers, shall hereafter mean and refer to the state liquor authority regional office having jurisdiction as provided for in this section.

§ 3. Section 11 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by section 2 of part E of chapter 57 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:

§ 11. Appointment of authority. The [members of the authority shall be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate] head of each regional office shall be an advisory board consisting of five members. One member shall be appointed by the governor, two members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate and two members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly. Each member shall be a resident of the region in which he or she is appointed. Not more than [two] three members of the authority shall belong to the same political party. [The chairman of the state alcoholic beverage control board heretofore appointed and designated by the governor and the remaining members of such board heretofore appointed by the governor shall continue to serve as chairman and members of the authority until the expiration of the respective terms for which they were appointed. Upon the expiration of such respective terms the successors of such chairman and members] Members of each advisory board shall be appointed to serve for a term of three years each and until their successors have been appointed [and qualified]. The [commissioners, other than the chairman] members of each advisory board shall, when performing the work of the authority, be compensated at a rate of two hundred sixty dollars per day, together with an allowance for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties. [The chairman shall receive an annual salary established in section one hundred sixty-nine of the executive law.]

§ 4. Section 12 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 358 of the laws of 1961, is amended to read as follows:

§ 12. Expenses. Each member of the advisory boards of the regional offices of the authority shall be entitled to his or her expenses actually and necessarily incurred by him or her in the performance of his or her duties.

§ 5. Section 13 of the alcoholic beverage control law is amended to read as follows:

§ 13. Removal. Any member of the advisory boards of the regional offices of the authority may be removed by the [governor] appointing authority for cause after an opportunity to be heard. A statement of the cause of his or her removal shall be filed by the [governor] appointing authority in the office of the secretary of state.

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§ 6. Section 14 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 297 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:

§ 14. Vacancies; quorum. 1. In the event of a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, removal or disability of any [commissioner] member of an advisory board, the vacancy shall be filled by the [governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate] appointing authority for the unexpired term.

2. [(a) In the event of a vacancy caused by the death, resignation, removal, or disability of the chairman, the vacancy shall be filled by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the senate for the unexpired term. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the governor shall designate one of the commissioners to serve as acting chairman for a period not to exceed six months or until a successor chairman has been confirmed by the senate, whichever comes first. Upon the expiration of the six month term, if the governor has nominated a successor chairman, but the senate has not acted upon the nomination, the acting chairman can continue to serve as acting chairman for an additional ninety days or until the governor's successor chairman nomination is confirmed by the senate, whichever comes first.

(b) The governor shall provide immediate written notice to the temporary president of the senate of the designation of a commissioner as acting chairman.

(c) If (i) the governor has not nominated a successor chairman upon the expiration of the six month term or (ii) the senate does not confirm the governor's successor nomination within the additional ninety days, the commissioner designated as acting chairman shall no longer be able to serve as acting chairman and the governor is prohibited from extending the powers of that acting chairman or from designating another commissioner to serve as acting chairman.

(d) A commissioner serving as the acting chairman of the authority shall be deemed a state officer for purposes of section seventy-three of the public officers law.

3.] A majority of the members of [the authority] an advisory board shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the business thereof and a majority vote of all the members [in office] of an advisory board shall be necessary for action. [Provided, however, that a commissioner designated as an acting chairman pursuant to subdivision two of section fourteen of this chapter shall have only one vote for purposes of conducting the business of the authority.]

§ 7. Section 15 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 118 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:

§ 15. Officers; employees; offices. Investigators employed by the authority shall be deemed to be peace officers for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter or [judgements] judgments or orders obtained for violation thereof, with all the powers set forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law. The counsel, secretary, chief executive officer, assistant chief executive officers, confidential secretaries to [commissioners and deputies] the advisory boards of the regional offices of the authority shall be in the exempt class of the civil service. The other assistants, investigators and employees of the authority shall all be in the competitive class of the civil service. [The authority shall continue to have its principal office in the city of Albany, and may maintain a branch office in the cities of New York and Buffalo and such other places as the chairman may deem necessary.]

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§ 8. Section 15 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995 and the second undesignated paragraph as amended by section 1 of part F of chapter 411 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:

§ 15. Officers; employees; offices. The advisory boards of the regional offices of the authority shall have power to appoint any necessary deputies, counsels, assistants, investigators, and other employees within the limits provided by appropriation. Investigators so employed by the [Authority] authority shall be deemed to be peace officers for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of [the alcoholic beverage control law] this chapter or [judgements] judgments or orders obtained for violation thereof, with all the powers set forth in section 2.20 of the criminal procedure law. The counsel, secretary, chief executive officer, assistant chief executive officers, confidential secretaries to [commissioners and deputies] the advisory boards of the regional offices of the authority shall be in the exempt class of the civil service. The other assistants, investigators and employees of the authority shall all be in the competitive class of the civil service. [The authority shall continue to have its principal office in the city of Albany, and may maintain a branch office in the cities of New York and Buffalo and such other places as it may deem necessary.]

The authority shall establish appropriate procedures to insure that hearing officers are shielded from ex parte communications with alleged violators and their attorneys and from other employees of the authority and shall take such other steps as it shall deem necessary and proper to shield its judicial processes from unwarranted and inappropriate communications and attempts to influence.

§ 9. Section 16 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 731 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:

§ 16. Disqualification of members and employees of authority. No member of an advisory board of a regional office of the authority or any officer, deputy, assistant, inspector or employee thereof shall have any interest, direct or indirect, either proprietary or by means of any loan, mortgage or lien, or in any other manner, in or on any premises where alcoholic beverages are manufactured or sold; nor shall he have any interest, direct or indirect, in any business wholly or partially devoted to the manufacture, sale, transportation or storage of alcoholic beverages, or own any stock in any corporation which has any interest, proprietary or otherwise, direct or indirect, in any premises where alcoholic beverages are manufactured or sold, or in any business wholly or partially devoted to the manufacture, sale, transportation or storage of alcoholic beverages, or receive any commission or profit whatsoever, direct or indirect, from any person applying for or receiving any license or permit provided for in this chapter, or hold any other public office in the state or in any political subdivision except upon the written permission of the liquor authority, such member of an advisory board of a regional office of the authority or officer, deputy, assistant, inspector or employee thereof may hold the public office of notary public or member of a community board of education in the city school district of the city of New York. Any one who violates any of the provisions of this section shall be removed.

§ 10. Section 17 of the alcoholic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 118 of the laws of 2012 and subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 297 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:

§ 17. Powers of the authority. [The] Each regional office of the authority shall have the following functions, powers and duties within

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the counties in which it has jurisdiction: 1. To issue or refuse to issue any license or permit provided for in this chapter.

2. To limit in its discretion the number of licenses of each class to be issued within [the state or any political subdivision thereof] its jurisdiction, and in connection therewith to prohibit the acceptance of applications for such class or classes of licenses which have been so limited.