Legislative Priorities | Political Action Committee | Advocacy Accomplishments | Advocacy Overview
Current Legislative Priorities
Pass Interchange Fee legislation
A top priority for next year is to advance legislation that limits the scope of interchange fees charged by banks and their networks. If passed, this would substantially decrease costs in an area that has dramatically increased over the last few years. We built substantial support for this measure last year and plan to continue that momentum. CLICK HERE to stand with NYSRA and urge your state legislators to Limit Interchange Fees Now!
Maintain the Tip Credit
The tip credit is a valuable economic tool for many restaurants and bars that helps with labor costs, at no detriment to tipped employees. We will always be at the forefront of this fight and will continue our full support of this important credit. There has been a large push by One Fair Wage to eliminate this important credit, and it is our industry’s responsibility to ensure legislators are properly educated on the facts surrounding this issue.
Protect Businesses from Environmental Legislative Overreach
The NY State Climate Action Council has recommended many measures since its implementation to try and make our State ‘greener’. While the Association applauds the intent behind many of these measures, we share concerns with many other business groups that if these measures are implemented too quickly, the financial strain could break many industries, including ours. We will be asking the Governor’s office and both houses of the legislature to ensure that when considering sweeping changes, they truly see the big picture and avoid any undue harm.
Work on Changes to State Liquor Law
The Association has made steady progress over the last several years in making needed changes to the liquor laws in New York, but our work is far from complete. We will work with the Chair of the State Liquor Authority to come up with several initiatives that should help our businesses.
Recent Legislative Wins
Unemployment Insurance Repayment
The NYS Restaurant Association was proudly part of a coalition that worked since the pandemic in encouraging the legislature to fill in our unemployment insurance deficit. This year we got this over the finish line and our members should see significant decreases in their unemployment insurance costs.
Retail to Retail Alcohol Sales
Another win that we saw this year was the legalization of retail-to-retail alcohol sales in limited quantities. We have heard from a number of our members throughout the years that they wish they could legally purchase alcohol from liquor stores for their establishments. That wish is now a reality.
Drinks To-go
Another alcohol reform that was win for our industry was the legalization of drinks to go. Restaurants and bars now have an additional revenue stream that previously did not exist.
Restaurant Reservation Anti-piracy Act
This issue came directly from our members. An uptick in reservation no shows led to the discovery that 3rd party websites were selling restaurant reservations that they used bots to obtain without the knowledge of the restaurant. This led to a significant decrease in diners and was something that we felt needed to be addressed as this technology continues to become more prevalent.