What's happening
This bill requires the State Liquor Authority to publicly provide digital information on any conditions imposed on licensed premises.
Why it matters
Increases transparency for communities and local governments. by making it easier to see the specific restrictions or requirements (such as hours of operation or occupancy limits) placed on bars, restaurants, and other liquor-licensed venues in their neighborhoods.
Helps residents, law enforcement, and community boards monitor compliance. with State Liquor Authority (SLA) rules, potentially aiding in the resolution of local disputes and improving neighborhood quality of life.
Levels the playing field for businesses. by ensuring all current and prospective licensees have access to the same information about operational conditions, which can inform business planning and competition.
Promotes accountability of both the SLA and license holders. by making historical and current conditions easily accessible, reducing the likelihood of arbitrary enforcement or hidden exceptions.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Disclose Bar License Rules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Signed chap.340
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.406
- Substituted for A4315
- Referred to economic development
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 51–10
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.267
Show 1 earlier action
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Disclose Bar License Rules
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Deborah Glick
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
55
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, BRESLIN, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to requiring the state liquor authority to make available to the public information pertaining to any conditions it imposes on a licensed premises
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The alcoholic beverage control law is amended by adding a new section 110-c to read as follows:
§ 110-c. Public license query. The authority shall make available to the public all digitally archived information pertaining to any conditions it imposes on the operation of a premises licensed by the authority pursuant to this chapter, including but not necessarily limited to information pertaining to the hours during which the licensed premises is allowed to operate, the maximum permitted occupancy of the licensed premises, and any special conditions imposed by the authority on the licensed premises.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04160-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to requiring the state liquor authority to make available to the public information pertaining to any conditions it imposes on a licensed premises
Purpose
To ensure that the State Liquor Authority (SLA) maintains on its website public information regarding the method of operations of establishments under its jurisdiction.
Summary of provisions
Section One of the alcoholic beverage control law is amended by adding a new section 110-c to make available to the public all digitally archived information pertaining to any conditions it imposes on the operation of a premises licensed by the authority pursuant to this chapter, including but not necessarily limited to information pertaining to the hours during which the licensed premises is allowed to operate, the maximum permitted occupancy of the licensed premises and any special conditions imposed by the authority on the licensed premises.
Justification
On-premises licenses issued by the State Liquor Authority list details of the "Method of Operation" of the premises, including: days and hours of operation, whether live music or dancing is permitted, if the prem- ises includes an outside area, etc. Disturbingly, there is no repository of information-where members of the public can access this Method of Operation information. As a result, local residents, businesses and, other interested parties have no way of determining the specifics of an SLA on-premises license, for example, what hours the establishment is permitted to stay open or whether anything other than background music such as a disc jockey - is permitted. The only option for the public to learn this information is through filing a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, which is a time consuming and lengthy process.
Equally troubling is that local police precincts do not have the details of SLA on-premises licenses either. This means that when the police answer e complaint about a noisy bar, there is no way for an officer to determine whether the establishment is in compliance with its on-premis- es license terms, such as hours of operation or whether it can have a DJ.
The State Liquor Authority has recently taken measures to become more transparent by listing the identity of license holders in local communi- ties on a publicly available website. The next step is to require that the relevant information about these licenses be publicly available on the SLA website as well, and to maintain a continuously updated data- base.
Legislative history
S.0099-A of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in IGO A.3677 of 2017-2018 (Glick): Died in Economic Development (2017)/Died on Third Reading (2018) S.343 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Died in Investigations & Government Oper- ations A.4067 of 2015-2016 (Glick): Died in Economic Development (2015)/Passed Assembly (2016) S.3077 of 2013-2014 (Hoylman): Advanced to Third Reading (2013)/Died in Investigations (2014) A.6073 of 2013-2014 (Glick): Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
To be determined
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.