Cuomo says the new legislation is part of his administration’s efforts to grow New York State’s craft brewing industry.
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to make it legal to grab a mimosa with Sunday brunch or leave a NY winery with a growler in hand. According to state officials, the craft brewing business employs more than 10,000 people and has generated nearly $27 billion in economic impact.
The bill from Cuomo would allow restaurants and bars obtain a permit to begin Sunday alcohol sales at 8 a.m. The State Liquor Authority would have the power to allow full liquor licenses within 200 feet of a school or place of worship.
“It is the most freakish, archane, frustrating, maddening law that you could imagine”, Cuomo said, referring to a law that was put on the books 80 years ago, in the time of prohibition. Current law requires wine sole for off-premises consumption be kept in original sealed containers. In addition, the legislation would authorize wineries and farm wineries to allow customers to take home partially finished bottles of wine.
The legislation is the product of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law Working Group, a blue ribbon panel created by Governor Cuomo in November of 2015. However, there are now a number of small wholesalers in NY that sell limited number of brands they import directly to large wholesalers for distribution to retailers. Among the other guidelines changing is the “two hundred foot law”, which prohibits liquor licenses in locations exclusively used as schools or places of worship, and reduce the amount of paperwork for craft manufacturers to receive licensing.
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“We have by this task force report dramatically redone that law”.
