Support Your Local Brewery has issued an E-Action Alert for New York, where the smaller brewers need help getting Senate Bill 1315, legislation affecting distribution agreements between small brewers and beer wholesalers, to the Senate floor for a vote. The fate of this important bill now lies in the hands of the Senate Rules Committee.
They’ve sent this message:
The legislative session has been extended through Wednesday June 22nd and it is imperative and urgent that you phone and email the Senate Rules Committee members today and ask them to move S. 1315 to the Senate floor for a “yes” vote this week.
Key Points
• Permits brewers with less than 300,000 barrels annual production and comprising less than 3% of a wholesaler’s annual sales volume to terminate an agreement with that wholesaler without having good cause (currently, a brewer may only terminate with good cause, i.e. the distributor is not properly representing a beer or brewer in the market. This is a long, difficult and expensive process and success for the brewer is by no means an assured outcome).
• The bill also requires payment of fair market value for the applicable distribution rights lost and allows for an arbitration panel to review the fair market value.
• This is a jobs creation bill that will allow small brewers the ability to grow their business through increased access to market. This will benefit both small brewers and beer drinkers.
• Locally-made New York State beers should be available in all New York markets, not just those decided by a distributor.
Rules Committee Members’ contact information is available online by linking to their individual home pages under their names on the left navigation bar.
Special note for those living in Brooklyn: Senator Golden is still on the fence with this bill because he has been told that if passed, it will lead to jobs losses. Please phone, email and fax Senator Golden and stress to him that this is a job creation bill because it will allow small brewers greater market access, thereby allowing them to brew more beer and employee more people.
Thank you in advance for your immediate attention to this important matter.
New York State Brewers Association