Legislative ISSUes 2011-2012
ISSU Testimony Before Senate Law and Justice Commitee on January 24, 2012; Hearing on SB1287 – PLCB Modernization” Initiatives
Below are bills currently in the PA House and Senate that have a possible negative effect on the overall state store system in Pennsylvania.
HOUSE BILL 11 (PN 2889 – current, 2343)
HOUSE BILLS 1649 (PN – 2065), 1693 (PN – 2137), 1933 (PN – 2525)
HOUSE BILL 260 (PN 2159 – current, 1179)
HOUSE BILL 1356 (PN2160 – current, 1585)
SENATE BILL 1287 (PN 1656)
Allows the PLCB to set particular item prices as long as they are “uniform” throughout the Commonwealth; Removes PLCB employees from Civil Service Act and the Administrative Code (Office of Administration oversight); Removes PLCB from the Commonwealth Procurement Code
| Sponsors: | Ferlo (D-Allegheny/Armstrong/Westmoreland) Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) Costa (D-Allegheny) Fontana (D-Allegheny) Solobay (D-Allgheny/Beaver/Greene/Washington/Westmoreland) Kasunic (D-Fayette/Somerset/Washington/Westmoreland) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to Senate Law & Justice Committee – October 12, 2011 Public hearing before Committee members – January 24, 2012 (ISSU testimony above) |
HOUSE BILL 11 (PN 2889 – current, 2343)
Privatization. Permits the issuance of wholesale wine licenses; Allows beer distributors to sell wine; Allows beer distributors to transfer license; Permits a license to be transferred to a business engaging in the sale of liquid fuels and oils; Allows beer distributors to sell 6-packs and retail licensees to sell up to a
30-pack; Increases licensee discount to 15% from 10%; Expands Sunday hours from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and allows the PLCB, at their own discretion, to open as many stores as it deems necessary on Sundays; Establishes and implements the Customer Relations Marketing Program for the purpose of
offering customer incentives (coupons or discounts); Provides for flexible pricing; Increases fines for licensees; Allows the PLCB to set particular item prices as long as they are “uniform” throughout the Commonwealth; Removes PLCB from Procurement Code.
| Sponsors: | Turzai (R-Allegheny) Mustio (R-Allegheny) Christiana (R-Beaver) Bear (R-Lancaster) Day (R-Berks/Lehigh) Ellis (R-Butler) Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) Gillespie (R-York) Grove (R-York) Helm (R-Dauphin) Kreiger (R-Westmoreland) Maloney (R-Berks) Miller (R-York) Perry (R-Cumberland/York) Quigley (R-Montgomery) Roae (R-Crawford) Rock (R-Franklin) Schroder (R-Chester) Sonney (R-Erie) Swanger (R-Lebanon) Vulakovich (R-Allegheny) | Killion (R-Chester/Delaware) Saylor (R-York) Aument (R-Lancaster) Bloom (R-Cumberland) Dunbar (R-Westmoreland) Evankovich (R-Armstrong/Westmoreland) Gillen (R-Berks) Gingrich (R-Lebanon) Harris (R-Juniata/Mifflin/Snyder) Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill) Lawrence (R-Chester) Metcalfe (R-Butler) Moul (R-Adams/Franklin) Oberlander (R-Armstrong/Clarion) Rapp (R-Forest/McKean/Warren) Reese (R-Fayette/Washington) Saccone (R-Allegheny/Washington) Simmons (R-Lehigh/Northampton) Stevenson (R-Butler/Mercer) Tallman (R-Adams/York) |
| [Creighton (R-Lancaster) and Marsico (R-Dauphin) were sponsors of original bill. Both removed names from current version.] | ||
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – September 12, 2011 Reported as amended; first consideration; tabled – December 13, 2011 Removed from table; laid on the table – February 9, 2012 | |
| Note: | To date, there are 138 amendments, including one by Rep. Petri to amend language from HB 1356 into HB 11 (eliminating Civil Service and Administrative Code for PLCB employees). |
HOUSE BILL 2020 (PN 2535)
Privatization. Establishes the Infrastructure Future Fund with proceeds from the privatization of the PLCB retail and wholesale wine and liquor operations, including any wine or liquor inventory owned and maintained by the board/liquor stores.
| Sponsors: | Knowles (R-Berks/Schuylkill) Heffley (R-Carbon) Bear (R-Lancaster) Bloom (R-Cumberland) Creighton (R-Lancaster) Emrick (R-Northampton) Fleck (R-Blair/Huntingdon/Mifflin) Gillen (R-Berks) Grove (R-York) M. Keller (R-Franklin/Perry) Maloney (R-Berks) Metcalfe (R-Butler) Moul (R-Adams/Franklin) Oberlander (R-Armstrong/Clarion) Quigley (R-Montgomery) Rock (R-Franklin) Tallman (R-Adams/York) Toepel (R-Montgomery) Vereb (R-Montgomery) | Geist (R-Blair) Evankovich (R-Armstrong/Westmoreland) Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) Christiana (R-Beaver) Day (R-Berks/Lehigh) Everett (R-Lycoming) Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) Gingrich (R-Lebanon) Helm (R-Dauphin) Killion (R-Chester/Delaware) Major (R-Susquehanna/Wayne/Wyoming) Miller (R-York) Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia) Perry (R-Cumberland/York) Reichley (R-Berks/Lehigh) Saylor (R-York) Tobash (R-Berks/Schuylkill) Truitt (R-Chester) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Transportation Committee – October 12, 2011 |
HOUSE BILLS 1649 (PN – 2065), 1693 (PN – 2137), 1933 (PN – 2525)
Privatization. Allows distributors to obtain a “wine and spirits sales permit” to sell and deliver wine and spirits (can be converted to an “enhanced distributor license” after three years and payment of a one-time conversion fee); Includes “wine and spirits permittees” among those to whom every PLCB store shall sell liquors at wholesale; Allows importing distributors to receive an “enhanced distributor license” additionally authorizing the holder to buy, import and have in its possession wine and spirits at wholesale for sale to “enhanced distributor licensees” (beer distributors who apply for such license); Increases licensee discount to 12% from 10%, and the board shall not charge the licensees a mark-up; Permits holders of a hotel/restaurant license to sell up five bottles of wine for off-premise consumption; Provides for the determination of a five-year plan for profit returns from the sale of wine and spirits to the General Fund (to be determined by the chairs/minority chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and reviewed with the PLCB)
| Sponsors: | Mustio (R-Allegheny) Taylor (R-Philadelphia) F. Keller (R-Snyder/Union) Kotik (D-Allegheny) | Payne (R-Dauphin) Everett (R-Lycoming) Killion (R-Chester/Delaware) Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) |
| History: | HB 1649 – Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – June 8, 2011 HB 1693 – Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – June 17, 2011 HB 1933 – Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – October 6, 2011 | |
| Note: | House Bills 1649, 1693 and 1933 contain identical language (excluding minor technical differences). |
HOUSE BILL 159 (PN 96)
Allows the PLCB to set particular item prices as long as they are “uniform” throughout the Commonwealth.
| Sponsors: | Payne (R-Dauphin) Sonney (R-Erie) Kortz (D-Allegheny) | Mustio (R-Allegheny) Miller (R-York) Millard (R-Columbia) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – January 21, 2011 |
HOUSE BILL 160 (PN 97)
Allows the PLCB, at their own discretion, to open as many stores as it deems necessary on Sundays. (Removes the current 25% restriction.)
| Sponsors: | Payne (R-Dauphin) Sonney (R-Erie) Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) Millard (R-Columbia) Schroder (R-Chester) Farry (R-Bucks) | Harhai (D-Fayette/Westmoreland) Mustio (R-Allegheny) Kortz (D-Allegheny) Readshaw (D-Allegheny) Wagner (D-Allegheny) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – January 21, 2011 |
HOUSE BILL 260 (PN 2159 – current, 1179)
Establishes and implements the Customer Relations Marketing Program for the purpose of
offering customer incentives (coupons or discounts); Allows the PLCB, at their own discretion
to open as many stores as it deems necessary on Sundays. (Removes the current 25% restriction.);
Increases fines for licensees.
| Sponsors: | Taylor (R-Philadelphia) Cohen (D-Philadelphia) D. Costa (D-Allegheny) Josephs (D-Philadelphia) Killion (R-Chester/Delaware) Miller (R-York) Mustio (R-Allegheny) M. O’Brien (D-Philadelphia) Payne (R-Philadelphia) Sabatina (D-Philadelphia) Farry (R-Bucks) | Santoni (D-Berks) Brennan (D-Lehigh/Montgomery) Everett (R-Lycoming) W. Keller (D-Philadelphia) Micozzie (R-Delaware) Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia) Myers (D-Philadelphia) Pashinski (D-Luzerne) Readshaw (D-Allegheny) Sturla (D-Lancaster) Wagner (D-Allegheny) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – March 17, 2011 Reported as amended; first consideration; re-committed to House Rules – June 21, 2011 Re-reported as committed; tabled – September 26, 2011 Removed from table; tabled – November 3, 2011 *** OUT OF COMMITTEE/AVAILABLE FOR FULL HOUSE VOTE *** |
HOUSE BILL 1356 (PN2160 – current, 1585)
Allows PLCB to remove themselves from the Civil Service Act (employees would serve at the pleasure of the Board and no longer be considered members of the classified service), Administrative Code (Office of Administration oversight) and Procurement Code.
| Sponsors: | Petri (R-Bucks) Gillespie (R-York) Miller (R-York) Mustio (R-Allegheny) | Caltagirone (D-Berks) Killion (D-Chester/Delaware) Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia) Rapp (R-Forest/McKean/Warren) |
| History: | Introduced and referred to House Liquor Control Committee – April 20, 2011 Reported as amended; first consideration; re-committed to House Rules – June 21, 2011 Re-reported as committed; tabled – September 26, 2011 Removed from table; tabled – November 3, 2011 *** OUT OF COMMITTEE/AVAILABLE FOR FULL HOUSE VOTE *** |