Senator Rachel May (D-Onondaga, Madison, Oneida) announced that her bill to help vendors at the State Fair with liquor license costs has been signed into law. The bill, S.6465A, extends a credit for permits and licenses issued for the sale of alcoholic beverages at the 2020 State Fair to be eligible for use in 2022.
The 2020 State fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This event annually draws more than one million people to Central New York; however, as a consequence of this cancellation, countless businesses and individuals lost a great deal of revenue and income. Among them are vendors that had been issued a temporary license to sell alcoholic beverages at the 2020 State Fair, but could not use them.
In 2021, the State Fair returned. Thus, it is both wise and justified to accommodate vendors who could not use their permits to sell alcohol in 2020 by extending these permits to cover the 2022 State fair.
“The New York State Fair is a huge economic driver in Onondaga County,” May said. “So many of our vendors are small businesses that rely on the fair for a large portion of their yearly earnings. Like many other sectors, the pandemic hit these businesses hard, and we must do what we can to ease their burden.
“I am very glad that Gov. Hochul agrees our fair vendors deserve a reprieve, and I thank her for signing my bill to do just that. I look forward to welcoming her back to the Great New York State Fair in 2022.”