STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6726 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 11, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Economic Development AN ACT to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to the sale of tonic water, bitters, maraschino cherries, and dealcoholized wine at liquor stores The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 104 of the alco- 2 holic beverage control law, as amended by chapter 24 of the laws of 3 2024, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a) No wholesaler shall be engaged in any other business on the prem- 5 ises to be licensed; except that nothing contained in this chapter 6 shall: (1) prohibit a beer wholesaler from (i) acquiring, storing or 7 selling non-alcoholic snack foods, as defined in paragraph (b) of this 8 subdivision, (ii) manufacturing, bottling, storing, or selling non-alco- 9 holic carbonated beverages, (iii) manufacturing, storing or selling 10 non-alcoholic non-carbonated soft drinks, mineral waters, spring waters, 11 drinking water, non-taxable malt or cereal beverages, juice drinks, 12 fruit or vegetable juices, ice, liquid beverage mixes and dry or frozen 13 beverage mixes, (iv) acquiring, storing or selling wine products, (v) 14 the sale of promotional items on such premises, or (vi) the sale of 15 tobacco products at retail by wholesalers who are licensed to sell beer 16 and other products at retail; (2) prohibit a wholesaler authorized to 17 sell wine from manufacturing, acquiring or selling wine merchandise, as 18 defined in paragraph (d) of this subdivision; (3) prohibit a licensed 19 winery or licensed farm winery from engaging in the business of a wine 20 wholesaler for New York state labeled wines produced by any licensed 21 winery or licensed farm winery or prohibit such wine wholesaler from 22 exercising any of its rights pursuant to sections seventy-six and seven- 23 ty-six-a of this chapter provided that the operation of such beer and 24 wine wholesalers business shall be subject to such rules and regulations EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01438-01-5
A. 6726 2 1 as the liquor authority may prescribe; (4) prohibit a beer wholesaler 2 who is authorized to sell beer at retail from selling at retail: (i) 3 candy, chewing gum and cough drops; (ii) non-refrigerated salsa; (iii) 4 cigarette lighters, lighter fluid, matches and ashtrays; (iv) barbecue 5 and picnic-related products and supplies, which shall include, but not 6 be limited to, charcoal, grills, propane gas, plastic and paper cups, 7 paper or plastic tablecloths and coolers; (v) beer making and brewing 8 supplies and publications, which shall include, but not be limited to, 9 books, magazines, equipment and ingredients; (vi) steins, mugs and other 10 glassware appropriate for the consumption of beer, malt beverages and 11 wine products; (vii) items typically used to serve beer and malt bever- 12 ages including, but not limited to, taps, kegerators, koozies and beer 13 socks; (viii) lemons, limes and oranges, provided that no more than two 14 dozen of each shall be displayed at any one time; (ix) rock salt, ice 15 and snow melting compounds, snow shovels; windshield washer solvent; 16 firewood; beach umbrellas; sunglasses and sun block; and (x) prepaid 17 telephone cards; (5) prohibit the installation and operation of a single 18 automated teller machine in the premises of a beer wholesaler who is 19 authorized to sell beer at retail; [or] (6) prohibit a liquor or a wine 20 wholesaler from transporting or selling gifts or promotional items asso- 21 ciated with wine or liquor products as provided for in subdivision four 22 of section sixty-three of this chapter; or (7) prohibit a liquor whole- 23 saler from transporting or selling tonic water, bitters, maraschino 24 cherries, or dealcoholized wine. For the purposes of this subdivision, 25 "automated teller machine" means a device which is linked to the 26 accounts and records of a banking institution and which enables consum- 27 ers to carry out banking transactions, including but not limited to, 28 account transfers, deposits, cash withdrawals, balance inquiries and 29 loan payments. 30 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 63 of the alcoholic beverage control 31 law, as amended by chapter 24 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 4. (a) No licensee under this section shall be engaged in any other 34 business on the licensed premises. The sale of any of the following 35 shall not constitute engaging in another business within the meaning of 36 this subdivision: 37 (i) lottery tickets, when duly authorized and lawfully conducted[, the 38 sale of]; 39 (ii) reusable bags as defined in section 27-2801 of the environmental 40 conservation law[, the sale of]; 41 (iii) corkscrews [or the sale of]; 42 (iv) ice [or the sale of]; 43 (v) publications, including prerecorded video and/or audio cassette 44 tapes, or educational seminars, designed to help educate consumers in 45 their knowledge and appreciation of alcoholic beverages, as defined in 46 section three of this chapter and allowed pursuant to their license[, or 47 the sale of non-carbonated,]; 48 (vi) non-flavored mineral waters, spring waters and drinking waters 49 [or the sale of]; 50 (vii) glasses designed for the consumption of wine or liquor, racks 51 designed for the storage of wine, and devices designed to minimize 52 oxidation in bottles of wine which have been uncorked[, or the sale of]; 53 (viii) gift bags, gift boxes, associated gift or promotional items, or 54 wrapping, for alcoholic beverages purchased at the licensed premises 55 [shall not constitute engaging in another business within the meaning of 56 this subdivision];
A. 6726 3 1 (ix) tonic water; 2 (x) bitters; 3 (xi) maraschino cherries; or 4 (xii) dealcoholized wine. 5 (b) Any fee obtained from the sale of an educational seminar shall not 6 be considered as a fee for any tasting that may be offered during an 7 educational seminar, provided that such tastings are available to 8 persons who have not paid to attend the seminar and all tastings are 9 conducted in accordance with section sixty-three-a of this article. 10 (c) For the purposes of this section, gift or promotional items shall 11 only include those items that are complimentary and directly associated 12 with the sale of wine or liquor they are promoting and shall mean: (i) 13 items that are de minimis in value, but in no instance shall merchandise 14 be valued at more than fifteen dollars in total; (ii) items that are 15 imprinted with the wine or liquor brand logo on the gift or promotional 16 item; and (iii) items that are included as part of a manufactured pre- 17 sealed package with the wine or liquor that is being gifted or promoted. 18 Further, for the purposes of this section, promotional items shall not 19 include any food, non-alcoholic beverage, or other drink or food mix, 20 nor shall these items be offered for sale to the general public as indi- 21 vidual items. 22 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 23 have become a law.