Raines law "the police restored the sandwich to the bartender and made no arrests." Such a shabby bar serves as the 1912 setting of the classic play "The Iceman Cometh", by Eugene O'Neill. Raines law The Raines law, authored by John Raines, was passed on March 23, 1896, by the New York State Legislature. It was nominally a liquor tax, but its intention was to curb the consumption of alcohol by imposing regulations. Among other provisions, it prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday except in hotels. Most men worked a six-day week, and Sunday was the only full day for
University of the State of New York of Regents. The Board of Regents of the USNY was established by statute on May 1, 1784, to provide oversight to King's College – today known as Columbia University – a private institution, and other colleges and academies incorporated in the state thereafter. On April 13, 1787, the legislature enacted a law that allowed individual educational institutions to have their own trustees and gave the Regents broader responsibilities for overseeing education in New York. The new law empowered the Regents to "visit and inspect all the colleges, academies, and schools" in the state, award higher academic degrees, hold and distribute