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After extensive debate, the New York state Senate and Assembly finished working through the state's several budget bills over the weekend, nearly 3 weeks beyond the April 1 deadline. The spending plan now goes to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk to be signed into law, which could happen as soon as later this week.Relevant measures in the revised budget include legalizing the sale of to-go alcohol for another five years as well as an expansion of the types of alcohol permitted to be sold in [...]

Governor Hochul’s proposed executive budget for fiscal year 2025 (the “Budget”), released on January 16, 2024, includes a number of provisions which, while falling short of proposing sweeping change, should nonetheless have positive impacts on the liquor licensing and permitting process within the state. In 2022, the Commission to Reform the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law (the “Commission”) was formed to vote on whether to recommend changes to state laws to [...]

The SLA has emerged victorious from the first round of the ongoing battle with James Dolan with respect to the issues involving his use of facial recognition software to enforce his policy of preventing attorneys from firms handling suits against his properties from entering his venues. On March 30, the Supreme Court dismissed Dolan’s lawsuit on the grounds that the matter was not yet ripe for review. Dolan filed suit against the SLA to vacate the SLA’s pending charges against [...]

The New York State Liquor Authority (the “SLA”) is taking significant steps to cut down on the agency’s sizable licensing backlog. The current estimated processing time of an application is 24-26 weeks, with even temporary permit processing typically taking close to two months. In an effort to cut down on processing times, the SLA in September announced an initiative to simplify the application process. Thomas Donohue, the Deputy Commissioner of Licensing for the Authority [...]