Don't make underage drinking any easier

In recent years, Albany politicians have been happy to experiment with existing state laws — think cannabis legalization or bail reform — without thinking through the social ills and law enforcement challenges that these experiments create. Next in the crosshairs are New York’s liquor laws and a misguided proposal to dismantle the three-tier system that has worked well for nearly a century.

State Sen. James Skoufis is sponsoring a bill that would weaken the state’s liquor laws to allow for direct-to-consumer interstate shipping. Fortunately, a commission formed to study changes in the alcohol beverage control law recently voted not to recommend direct shipping. It recognized that direct alcohol shipping would be a dramatic change putting more power in the hands of out-of-state interests who seek to control New York’s liquor sales.

At the heart of New York’s present liquor laws is the understanding that locally owned businesses have a personal stake in the well-being of their communities — especially the well-being of minors who may be tempted by the ease of direct shipping. The licensed retailers who currently serve New York communities use highly trained employees or licensed third-party services with ID-check training to prevent underage sales. Any parent with a tech-savvy teenager at home will understand the dangers weaker laws will create.

Massachusetts’ experience is worth considering. Investigators in that state looked closely at the dangers of direct-to-consumer shipping of alcohol and found much that should concern us here in New York. Chief Investigator Ted Mahony’s probe of direct-to-consumer shipping practices exposed many retail websites abroad that sell and ship alcohol using “straw” entities and common carriers with no alcohol labeling or age verification. Nearly all DTC sellers accepted orders and payment from a 15-year-old. Of shipments investigated, 26% that were labeled “alcohol” were left at the door and 43% didn’t obtain an adult signature. None of the shipments verified the age of the recipient upon delivery using a state-issued ID.

Anyone in law enforcement, like myself, sees firsthand the effects of alcohol abuse. As the pandemic receded last fall, we saw a far greater incidence of impaired driving. In fact, in some parts of our state, DWI arrests were up nearly 50% during holiday weekends from the previous year. Like many law enforcement professionals, New York parents are also skeptical of looser liquor laws, with 73% of New York moms telling a recent Morning Consult survey that DTC alcohol delivery will lead to more minors getting their hands on booze than ever before.

Those mom-and-pop retailers who ensure that alcohol doesn’t end up in the hands of minors are part of a New York wine and spirits industry that includes wholesalers and distributors working under licensing laws in force since the 1930s. This homegrown New York industry has created nearly 70,000 jobs in our state, from mixologists to transportation and trucking to technical logistics experts, and generates $5.67 billion in tax revenue from alcohol sales.

It’s estimated that if DTC were to take effect, thousands of jobs would be lost across our state and New York’s economy would shrink by $370 million as business went out of state or to online retailers like Amazon. What’s more, the cost of properly enforcing DTC statewide is estimated at just less than $20 million. More bureaucracy, less enforcement and higher costs. Who wins this equation?

Politicians considering big changes to New York’s current liquor laws should not be fooled by talk of modernizing our outdated system. If a law works, especially one that protects the most vulnerable among us, let’s keep it that way.