Senate adopts antitrust measure to expand state enforcement; critics warn of litigation risk to small businesses

Albany — The New York State Senate passed legislation on June 4, 2025 intended to strengthen state antitrust enforcement by establishing a standard closer to an “abuse of dominance” test, the sponsor said, while opponents warned it could unleash litigation that burdens small businesses.

Senator Giannaris, the bill sponsor, said the measure updates a century‑old antitrust framework and would let New York pursue monopolistic or dominant conduct using an approach common in other countries. "This bill would establish a standard that is in use throughout much of the rest of the world called abuse of dominance," Giannaris said on the floor.

Critics said the statutory language is vague about how markets will be defined and warned it could empower private plaintiffs and contingency‑fee attorneys to pursue suits against local operators — a scenario they compared to class-action and bounty‑hunter litigation that produces small recoveries for consumers but substantial fees for lawyers. Senator Barriello argued the bill could allow suits against owners of a few convenience stores in rural areas or other small businesses that are the sole suppliers in remote markets.

Senator Barriello said the measure risks unintended consequences for industries and arrangements that have exclusivity by design — for example, tribal gaming compacts — and argued it could discourage businesses from operating in New York. "We're going to make demons out of people that are providing services in areas like mine that otherwise wouldn't have those services," Barriello said.

Supporters responded that New York already has antitrust laws and that the bill would modernize enforcement tools against dominant actors who operate in the state’s economy. Senator May, chairing Consumer Protection, framed monopolies as harmful economic outcomes and thanked the sponsor for addressing them.

The Senate approved the bill on the floor; the vote was recorded with 39 in favor and 21 opposed. The bill was announced as taking effect immediately during the session.

The legislation establishes a state standard for evaluating dominance and enables enforcement actions under state law; precise enforcement mechanisms and how the state will define relevant markets will be determined in subsequent regulatory and judicial contexts should the law take effect and be applied.

Lawmakers on both sides urged follow-up work to clarify market definitions and to examine exemptions or safeguards for small businesses and tribal compacts.