Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-Utica/Rome) announced she helped pass a bill that will help improve the transparency of the State Liquor Authority’s (SLA) license and permit application process (A.597).

“Business owners shouldn’t be left in the dark about how long the State Liquor Authority will take to process their license or permit applications,” Buttenschon said. “Businesses have waited up to six months with little to no updates on their application. Without knowing how long it will take for these requests to be processed by the state, businesses simply cannot plan for the future. This legislation will help local establishments know when their requests will be processed, providing much-needed transparency.”

This bill that Buttenschon co-sponsored would require the Liquor Authority to keep a daily updated list on its website of all open license and permit applications, along with the estimated time for these requests to be processed. The authority would also be required to notify an applicant if the estimated completion time is changed.

Buttenschon also co-sponsored legislation to provide alternative penalties for first-time violations of an SLA rule or regulation (A.5972). This law gives business owners who received their first violation during the pandemic flexibility with the repercussions, especially if the actions or omissions are determined by the authority to be minimal under this past year’s circumstances, noted Buttenschon.