In our view, the acceptable practice is for adminstrative agencies to make rules in the form of a rule making procedure with prior notice and for rules to be promulgated in a regular organized manner as the agencies rules and procedures. The SLA departs from this method and rather seems to make rules in the form of advisories which are irregularly indexed.
<updated June 14, 2024 – to be edited further>
In our view, the acceptable practice is for adminstrative agencies to make rules in the form of a rule making procedure with prior notice and for rules to be promulgated in a regular organized manner as the agencies rules and procedures. The SLA departs from this method and rather seems to make rules in the form of advisories which are irregularly indexed. An example is the rule for hearings under the 500-foot rule. https://sla.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/06/advisory-2020-8-500-foot-law-hearings.pdf. However, it appears that the SLA does have formal Rules and Procedures under the New York State Administrative Procedures Act, but oddly the SLA does not mention its Rules and Procedures on its web site. Very odd. See https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/title-9/subtitle-B. Buried on the SLA web site are various rules. https://search.its.ny.gov/search/search.html?btnG=Search&client=default_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&ulang=en&sort=date:D:L:d1&entqr=3&entqrm=0&wc=200&wc_mc=1&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&ud=1&site=default_collection&q=rules+inurl:sla.ny.gov&site=default_collection. But, there does not seem to be any index or table of contents. https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Document/I4f0a4d51cd1711dda432a117e6e0f345?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default).Very odd.
A relevant rule as to methods of operation is at https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/9-NYCRR-48.8:
(a) Each license issued hereunder shall be subject to the licensee continuing to conform with all representations set forth in the application for license and the provisions of this Part and any amendment thereto applicable to the type of premises under which such license was applied for and issued. Such representations shall constitute continuing representations for the life of the license and all renewals thereof. Any change or deviation therefrom in any material respect, without the permission of the Authority, shall be cause for the institution of proceedings to revoke, cancel or suspend such license or refusal to renew the same.
The SLA explains its methodology as follows at https://sla.ny.gov/guidance-documents?f[0]=filter_term%3A1126&page=5/
sla.ny.gov-Guidance Documents Liquor AuthorityPrior to 2012, the Authority provided guidance through Divisional Orders and Bulletins. Divisional Orders were directed to agency staff, while Bulletins contained information to industry members. Starting in 2010, the Full Board began issuing Advisories in lieu of both Divisional Orders and Bulletins. While most Divisional Orders and Bulletins have been replaced with Advisories or rescinded, some remain in full force and effect.
In additional to Advisories, the Full Board also issues Declaratory Rulings. These documents are issued at the request of any person seeking a ruling with respect to the applicability of the ABC Law or the Rules of the Authority to any person, property or state of facts. While the Authority has discretion with respect to whether to issue a ruling, if the ruling is issued it becomes binding on the Authority. The ruling cannot be changed retroactively but it can be changed prospectively. A Declaratory Ruling is subject to review.
The Full Board can delegate its powers to the Chairman or agency staff, these are known as Delegations of Power.
