Tell Us: Do You Support Privatizing PA Liquor Stores?

Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett unveiled a plan Wednesday to privatize the state's network of wine and spirits stores. We want to know if Saucon Valley residents think that's a good idea.

The way Pennsylvanians purchase liquor could change forever if a plan presented Wednesday by governor Tom Corbett is ultimately implemented. Plans to abolish the state-run monopoly on liquor sales have been debated by many politicians in the past, but popular opinion now appears to support the idea. We wanted to know how Saucon Valley residents feel about this issue, so we posed the question on Facebook yesterday. Local resident Mary Anne Looby said her experiences living outside the commonwealth have influenced her opinion on the subject of privatizing liquor sales. "We are definitely for it," she wrote on Hellertown Patch's Facebook page. "It will allow for a greater selection of wines coming into PA. Competition means better prices. We …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Barbara Scherer

12:59 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

For now I believe the proposal is just for state stores but not the sale of beer. I agree the small distributors should be allowed to sell beer; keep the government out of these things. They control enough of our lives.   more ›

PA Independent

PLCB Approves Higher Liquor, Wine Prices

Privatization advocates say the market should determine prices, rather than a government agency.

By Stacy Brown | PA Independent A bottle of Hennessy Cognac Paradis will cost $200 more, or $599.99, in Pennsylvania beginning next month.  By comparison, Dom Perignon, a top-shelf champagne, which now retails at $139.99, will be $5 more.  And, for those with less regal champagne tastes, Moet Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose will increase by $4 to $53.99. These increases resulted from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's approval of vendor-requested price hikes on more than 300 products. "We couldn't continue to turn down the vendors’ requests for price increases, because we would risk losing the opportunity to carry (their) products," board member P.J. Stapleton said Wednesday, adding that vendors are allowed to request price increases …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

PA Independent

State Departments Advised to Look for Opportunities to Privatize

Opponents of the move say Governor Tom Corbett may be putting philosophical interests ahead of cost-effectiveness.

The Corbett administration wants more government operations privatized to save money in the 2012-13 budget cycle. This directive was included in budget guidelines the administration released in August to help departments prepare for next year’s budget.  “If a product or service that state government is currently providing can be found in the Yellow Pages and can be done less expensively by the private sector, then the commonwealth should consider offering that product or service in a different manner,” reads a portion of the guidelines.  Through the guidelines, the administration advises departments to assess responsibilities and functions with the goal of identifying potential opportunities for outsourcing and privatization. Gov. Tom …

• Photos (2)

Turzai Unveils Plan to Privatize State Liquor Stores

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) argues that the tax reforms in the bill are revenue neutral.

Legislation to privatize state liquor stores in Pennsylvania promises millions in state revenue, but whether the tax reform in the measure will benefit residents is up for debate.  The proposal, HB 11, sponsored and introduced July 13 by House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, details a two-tiered licensing system and tax reform for the state’s 644 liquor stores, operated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, or PLCB. Turzai said the tax reform would be revenue neutral, meaning the state would not lose revenue or impose a higher tax burden on Pennsylvanians.  “That upfront revenue has to be used in a responsible manner and has to be part of the discussion, although it is not in the proposal of HB 11,” Turzai said. “(HB 11) is …

• Photos (1)

An Independent View

Liquor Store Privatization Is a Balancing Act

Here is what consumers should want to see in the final bill this fall.

Liquor store privatization appears to be back on the agenda in Harrisburg this fall, so this is a good time to start thinking about what consumers should want to see in the final bill. While there's a lot of support for the general concept of alcohol reform, consumers need to pay close attention to the specific proposals because there's a conflict between what's best for revenues and special interests and what's best for the alcohol-buying public. To kick off the conversation, here's my wishlist: Supermarket Sales While other states sell alcohol in supermarkets, bars, restaurants and convenience stores without destroying the fabric of society, Pennsylvanians are restricted in their shopping options. Beer is sold at beer distributors, but …

• Photos (4)

Liquor Store Privatization Battle Begins, Again

Turzai plan would also change taxes on alcohol.

A bill to privatize Pennsylvania’s state-owned and operated liquor stores aims at providing Pennsylvanians with better selection and lower prices, but critics argue that there are no guarantees.  “We have an opportunity to move Pennsylvania out of the post-Prohibition era by allowing the private sector to sell wine and spirits,” wrote Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, in an email July 8. “This is a proposal whose time has come.”  The majority House Republicans and Gov. Tom Corbett have supported this bill, which they have touted as an economic windfall for Pennsylvania. The proposal, to be introduced by Turzai before the end of the month, would sell off about 1,200 liquor store licenses to private …

• Photos (4)

Alcohol Suppliers Warn Higher Prices Possible With Liquor Control Board Reforms

The reforms are part of the PLCB’s overall 'modernization' effort.

A new pricing policy implemented by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board might force you to pay a little extra for your next bottle of Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon.  Restaurants and wine producers are criticizing the PLCB’s new policy, which changes the way the state assesses the so-called “bottle handling fee.” It's one of four different taxes applied by the state to alcohol. The new plan will do away with the old system, in which the fee was assessed at a fixed rate depending on the size of the bottle of wine or alcohol, and will use a percentage-based system instead. As a result, the cost of the handling fee will increase or decrease as the price of the bottle increases or decreases, instead of remaining flat. So if a producer or …

• Photos (1)

The Katz Meow

Drinking, Money and the PLCB

Pennsylvania's system of liquor control has failed its citizens.

Okay, you found me out. As you always suspected, I am a drinking man. Scotch is my poison, although I also like strange gins. My craving for vodka was much muted by my three years gastronomically impaired in the good old USSR. Not that I am in need of AA. My scotch is usually had not earlier than four in the afternoon and generally nursed to dinner. Oh, and my wife and I occasionally have wine with our evening repast. All this leads to my distaste for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) and the union representing the clerks who man and woman its stores. The clerks themselves I have found to be nice people, cooperative and friendly, but sadly uninformed about the products they sell. Most of them would not know the difference …

• Photos (2)

Union Leader: State Has ‘Best of Both Worlds’ When It Comes to Liquor

Opposes any push to privatize state liquor stores.

While some see hypocrisy in the state’s model of liquor control, the leader of the union representing the state liquor store employees says Pennsylvania is acting appropriately.  Speaking at the Pennsylvania Press Club’s monthly luncheon March 28, Wendell Young IV, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, said the state was in the ideal position to both advertise liquor while also monitoring its use and enforcing violations against underage drinking and over-consumption.  “I think the state is in the perfect position. I think it is a function of government to protect people both from a fiscal point of view and a public health point of view,” said Young. “We have the best of both worlds.”  UFCW Local 1776 represents …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

charles hampton

8:29 am on Monday, April 4, 2011

Mark, Pennsylvania is either far more progressive than 48 other states or far behind on this issue. I think you know the answer!   more ›