Bill Text: NY S03460 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows certain licensees to form cooperative agreements to make joint purchases of alcoholic beverages provided that such agreement and activity conform to certain standards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S03460 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03460-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3460

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 31, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations

        AN ACT to amend the alcoholic  beverage  control  law,  in  relation  to
          allowing cooperative agreements by licensees to sell wine or liquor at
          retail for consumption off the premises

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The alcoholic beverage control law is amended by  adding  a
     2  new section 106-c to read as follows:
     3    § 106-c. Cooperative agreements by licensees to sell wine or liquor at
     4  retail for consumption off the premises. No more than ten licensees with
     5  licenses  for  the  sale  at  retail  of wine or liquor for off-premises
     6  consumption as established in section sixty-three  or  section  seventy-
     7  nine  of  this  chapter,  may join a cooperative agreement to make joint
     8  purchases of alcoholic  beverages,  provided  that  such  agreement  and
     9  activity shall conform to the following standards:
    10    1.  The  cooperative may hire employees to act in an administrative or
    11  management capacity for the cooperative's purchase, storage  and  trans-
    12  portation of alcoholic beverages.  Such employees shall be in compliance
    13  with  sections  one  hundred  twenty-six and one hundred twenty-eight of
    14  this article;
    15    2. No cooperative agreement shall prohibit any licensee  from  joining
    16  any other cooperative agreement;
    17    3. No cooperative agreement shall prohibit any retailer from advertis-
    18  ing or selling any product at any otherwise lawful price;
    19    4. Any licensee may withdraw from a cooperative agreement within thir-
    20  ty  days  of forming such cooperative by written notice to the remaining
    21  participating members of such cooperative  and  no  penalties  shall  be
    22  charged for such withdrawal;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01796-01-3
        S. 3460                             2

     1    5.  All  purchases on credit through or by cooperative agreement shall
     2  be reduced to writing, signed by  the  wholesaler  and  each  individual
     3  participating  member of the cooperative and be consistent with sections
     4  one hundred one-aa and one hundred one-aaa of this article.  All  credit
     5  terms  shall  include  adequate assurances of payment by each individual
     6  participating member of the cooperative by either the posting of a  bond
     7  by the cooperative member or a provision that each member of the cooper-
     8  ative  shall  be  jointly  and  severally  liable  for  payment  for the
     9  purchases made through the cooperative. A copy of  such  written  agree-
    10  ments shall be maintained by the wholesaler and by the registered buying
    11  cooperative member;
    12    6.  All individual purchases through or by cooperative agreement shall
    13  be separately invoiced consistent with sections one hundred  one-aa  and
    14  one  hundred one-aaa of this article and shall contain the cooperative's
    15  registration number;
    16    7. All purchases through or by a cooperative agreement shall be trans-
    17  ported consistent with section one hundred seventeen of this article;
    18    8. No licensed party to a cooperative agreement shall commingle inven-
    19  tory, funds or other assets inconsistent with any section of this  chap-
    20  ter;
    21    9.  Any purchase or transfer in violation of any section of this chap-
    22  ter or the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall be a  violation  by
    23  all members of the cooperative purchase agreement;
    24    10.  Nothing  herein  shall  be deemed to require the servicing of any
    25  cooperative agreement with quantity or cash discounts if there exists no
    26  corresponding justification for the differential; and
    27    11. Each licensed cooperative buying group may maintain a public ware-
    28  house provided that the cooperative complies with  section  one  hundred
    29  two of this article, the cooperative public warehouse maintains assigned
    30  space  for  each  individual participating member of the cooperative and
    31  the inventory is transferred to  that  space  within  seventy-two  hours
    32  after  delivery.  All  purchases through or by the cooperative agreement
    33  shall be transported to and from the warehouse consistent  with  section
    34  one hundred seventeen of this article.
    35    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    36  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    37  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    38  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    39  completed on or before such effective date.