Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
METRO NE W S
May 2011
Legislative Update
By Todd Vandervort are only three sponsors in the Assem- well as the leaders, but we must keep
As expected, Assemblyman Morelle bly (Morelle, Bing and Jeffries). This our message strong.
(D-Rochester) and Senator O’Mara is far fewer sponsors than previous Please start contacting your Senator
(R-Elmira) have introduced a bill years. and Assembly Member to remind
(A.7659 / S.5358) that allows wine in Since the beginning of session, we them that we do not support this bill,
grocery stores. It also allows liquor have been preparing for this issue to or any proposals that would allow
stores to sell complementary items come up in the form of legislation. wine sales in grocery stores. We need
such as soda, juice, cigars, locally- The opposition has been working to the Legislature to know that we are
grown farm products, and wine re- convince legislators that selling wine still here fighting for this issue as
frigerators, and allows ATM machines in grocery stores will save our strug- strongly as we have in the past. Our
in liquor stores. The bill does not in- gling farms. We have met with leaders Coalition partners will be working
clude a medallion system like last in both houses and the Legislature to with us to reinforce our message.
year’s bill, but it increases fees for gro- reconfirm our opposition to wine in The wineries have been busy working
cery stores and takes 10% of the grocery stores and to ensure that on legislation that would create a New
money from the fees and dedicates up when a bill was introduced, it did not York Wine Council to help market,
to $1 million to a New York wine have the support from liquor stores. advertise and promote New York
marketing and promotion program, They remain sympathetic to our po- wines. This state-sponsored promo-
and up to $2 million to farmland pro- sition and we continue to have strong tion, if enacted, would employ a pow-
tection efforts. Senator O’Mara is the support from the Senate Republicans erful campaign to drive more New
lone sponsor in the Senate and there and many Assembly Democrats, as Yorkers to select New York wines,
continued on page 3
5_11_Final:Layout 1 5/24/11 3:39 PM Page 2
MAY SPECIAL
See Your Southern Sales Rep for
SVEDKA’s Deepest Discount Month Ever
5_11_Final:Layout 1 5/24/11 3:39 PM Page 3
ABL Federal
continued on page 5
4 Metropolitan Package Store Association
5_11_Final:Layout 1 5/24/11 3:39 PM Page 5
Is there an App
for that?
Know of any good apps for wine and
spirits that you want to share?
Send your favorite app to Metro at ABL Federal
metropsa@metropsa.org and we will post Update
them on our website. Continued
Here is a look at the hot new 2011 iphone The CARE Act’s primary stated purpose
is to “recognize and reaffirm that
apps for wine in a variety of categories. alcohol is different from other consumer
You can try them out yourself by visiting: products and that it should continue to be
regulated by the States” by amending the
http://www.vintank.com/2011iphoneapps/ Webb-Kenyon Act to include:
“SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR STATE
ALCOHOL REGULATION.
“(a) DECLARATION OF POLICY— It
is the policy of Congress to recognize and
reaffirm that alcohol is different from
other consumer products and it should
continue to be regulated by the States.
The CARE Act once again has the strong
support of the wholesale tier of the bev-
erage alcohol industry, and is strongly op-
posed by the supplier tier of the industry.
To date, no national alcohol retailer organ-
ization has gone on the record as support-
ing or opposing the legislation, including
ABL. The bill currently has 57 cospon-
sors in the House or Representatives. No
hearings on the legislation have been
scheduled at this time.
The NYS Liquor Authority has been out enforcing the law • Merchants must clearly post their refund policies.
that states that liquor stores may NOT have an ATM ma- • If a refund policy is not posted, consumers have 30 days
chine in their stores because it constitutes being engaged from the date of purchase to receive a full refund as long
in a secondary business. The SLA is citing stores found as they can show with their receipt, or any other confir-
to be in violation of this law. mation given by the merchant, that the 30 days have not
Anyone who was unfamiliar with this aspect of the law or elapsed.
needs clarification on what the law says you can and can- • Merchants are not required to accept returns or make re-
not sell, you may refer to the language below or call the funds if they post a "no-refund or return" policy. How-
Metro Office at 866.989.9006 to ensure that we are all in ever, even if a store has a “no return” policy, consumers
compliance with the laws at all times. always have the right to return damaged or defective
merchandise and obtain a refund.
Section 63 (4) of the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Law states: • Retailers must make a written copy of their refund
policy available upon request and post such availability
No licensee under this section shall be engaged in any on their refund policy signage.
other business on the licensed premises. The sale of lot-
tery tickets, when duly authorized and lawfully conducted, • Refund policy signage must provide consumers with ad-
the sale of corkscrews or the sale of ice or the sale of pub- vance notice if the return of any purchase is subject to
lications, including prerecorded video and/or audio cas- fees, and set forth the exact dollar or percentage amount
sette tapes, designed to help educate consumers in their of such fees. This includes disclosing restocking fees,
knowledge and appreciation of wine and wine products, which are defined as "any amount charged by a seller for
as defined in section three of this chapter, or the sale of accepting returned merchandise and issuing a refund or
non-carbonated, non-flavored mineral waters, spring wa- credit."
ters and drinking waters or the sale of glasses designed for
the consumption of wine, racks designed for the storage Renewals
of wine, and devices designed to minimize oxidation in Beginning with the May 1, 2011 renewal period, applicants
bottles of wine which have been uncorked, shall not con- will receive a notice in the mail advising them that it is time
stitute engaging in another business within the meaning to renew their license. The notice will provide instructions
of this subdivision. to applicants on how to download the renewal application
Returns of Unopened Alcoholic along with a list of documents/information that is to be
submitted with the application as well as the appropriate
Beverages fee and the effective/expiration dates for the upcoming
Allowable under New Ruling by SLA Chairman license period.
According to a ruling by the NYS Liquor Authority Chair-
man Dennis Rosen, “liquor stores, grocery stores and
other retailers licensed to sell liquor, wine, beer and wine
products for off premises consumption may, at their dis-
cretion, exchange or refund unopened returns from their
customers”.
This is not mandatory, but it gives retailers the option of
following this new return policy as long as the bottle they
are accepting back is unopened and has not been tam-
pered with. Whatever return policy the retailer chooses
to follow must be conspicuously posted in their store
clearly stating the terms of their refund policy.
Merchants that choose not to accept returns must post a
“no refund or return” policy.
As you know, the Metro Office in Yonkers closed and we have a ■ Get Certified! Take advantage of
new location. Please be sure your records are updated to Alcohol Training Awareness Pro-
reflect our current contact information: grams that are provided through the
SLA website. These programs help
Metropolitan Package Store Association licensees to comply with the ABC
1971 Western Avenue #222 Laws, and provide guidance on how
to stop underage drinking and sales
Albany, NY 12203 to intoxicated persons. If these
866.989.9006 Phone classes are not provided in your area,
518.463.7952 Fax you may take online courses as well.
Email Us At: metropsa@metropsa.org ■ Educate Your Employees. As we
Visit Our Website: www.metropsa.org approach prom and graduation sea-
son, there will be increased attempts
If you are not getting our emails, WE NEED YOUR EMAIL by underage kids to purchase alcohol.
ADDRESS. We will never sell your information or use it for Tell your employees to ID everyone
any unintended purpose. We have a lot of useful information that they suspect may be under 21,
to share with you and you don’t want to miss out! and be prepared to verify out of state
licenses as well.
• News You Can Use From the State Liquor Authority
■ Take Part in Community Pro-
• New Products and Special Pricing From Your Suppliers grams that Employ Compliance
Checks. One example of this type
• Updates on NYS Legislative Activities of program is currently being spon-
• Hot Topics in NYC sored by Diageo. The Responsible Re-
tailing Forum, American Beverage
• Action Alerts to Get Involved in What is Happening Licensees (ABL) and a group of off-
in our Industry premise associations – including
Metro - have been working together to
• Important Communications From Metro to our Members implement and evaluate a new model
of underage sales prevention. The
• E-Advertising Information From Your Suppliers and Fellow model provides licensees with re-
Retailers sources and practices to achieve high,
consistent levels of checking IDs and
Send us your email today to start receiving refusing sales to underage and intoxi-
these communications and more! cated customers. The model includes
periodic feedback on actual staff per-
formance as observed by young, legal-
age “mystery shoppers”, and strives to
improve cooperation among retailers
and their suppliers and distributors
and public health and safety stakehold-
ers in supporting community-wide re-
sponsible retailing.