https://www.youtube.com/@pennsylvaniataverntalkbyChuck

Pennsylvania taverns now have their own YouTube channel to help the Keystone State’s bar owners learn more about happenings at the State Capitol as well as other industry news.

The channel — Pennsylvania Tavern Talk — can be found by clicking here.

“YouTube Channels created by vloggers are very popular for entertainment and educational purposes,” said Chuck Moran, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association. “I created this channel to have another vehicle to get the word out about issues bar owners are facing while also giving bar owners a place to go and learn more about issues.”

In the inaugural vlog, posted on January 23, 2023, Moran takes a look at a co-sponsorship memo from State Representative Sheryl Delozier. In this memo, she indicates soon she’ll be re-introducing legislation that would allow minors who are musicians to play in Pennsylvania’s licensed establishments.

That vlog can be accessed directly via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Op026u19g.

According to Moran, the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association regularly tracks a few hundred bills at the State Capitol during each two-year legislative cycle. Education on some of those bills can be easily transformed into a vlog.

As far as future vlogs, Moran says he’ll be looking closely at all co-sponsorship memos and bills, but also wants to take a look at how Pennsylvania bar owners are being squeezed by inflation, legislatively created competition, and outdated liquor code that doesn’t allow flexibility to find new revenue streams.

For now, he invites those interested to subscribe to the channel and look for future vlogs.

The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association is the state’s political voice for family-owned, small business taverns, bars, and licensed restaurants.

As a statewide organization whose primary purpose is to advocate for Pennsylvania’s small business and family-owned bars, taverns, and licensed restaurants, we’re always trying to measure ourselves by asking a simple question … did we make a difference for our Members?

There are many moving pieces that test our abilities. And, throughout a two-year legislative cycle, our Association tracks about 175-200 bills and sponsorship memos. Some of these bills would be good for our Members and some that would not be. However, only a few of these bills will become law, meaning you really have to have the stars aligned and be on your game to get something to the finish line.

But, despite the challenges we face, the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association can confidently say that we were one of only a few associations in the liquor space that got a legislative agenda item signed by the Governor.

We have a sharp Board of Directors made up of industry peers who understand “inside baseball” at the state capitol. We have an excellent lobbyist in John Nikoloff, who keeps our name and issues in front of politicians on a daily basis. And, we are effective in our public affairs work, reaching out to traditional and non-traditional media throughout the state to bang the drum a little louder on issues of importance.

But everything isn’t about the politics of Harrisburg. We’re quite aware that Pennsylvania bars need to have the public’s trust and support the communities that support us.

When we reflect back on 2022, it’s easy to see how our secret sauce is a winner and is the reason why the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association is the leading voice in Pennsylvania for small business taverns, bars, and licensed restaurants.

Here’s our top success stories of 2022 …

1. Act 67 of 2022: On July 11, Governor Tom Wolf signed HB 1615 into law and is now Act 67 of 2022. Attached to that bill, with help from Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill and others, was an amendment that created fairness for all liquor licensees by allowing all to have up to 75 decibels of sound on property lines during certain hours. We are happy to say that this was part of our legislative agenda for 2022.
2. Coalition building to take on issues: On multiple occasions, we helped build teams of associations to fight for and sometimes against legislation. Coalition work included efforts to create competition with credit card swipe fees, fighting off threats against the tip credit as part of the minimum wage debate, finding solutions to beer transportation issues, and creating fairness with amplified sound liquor code to name a few. Some got to the finish line, while others are still in play. None-the-less, coalitions play an important role in our strategy.
3. Official Summer Drink of 2022: In partnership with Holla Spirits and Uplifting Athletes, we declared the Official Summer Drink of 2022 to raise funds to help children with life-threatening illnesses. This program was recognized by Governor Wolf’s Office and helped build public trust as the leading voice of family-owned small business bars, taverns, and licensed restaurants. It also provided Members with a marketing opportunity to pull new customers into their businesses.
4. Spoke out against a proposed constitutional amendment to privatize the state’s liquor industry: While we support privatization in philosophy, we were one of the first voices to speak up and protest against a constitutional amendment bill to do so. Supporting it would have been like taking a leap of faith, hoping the state government would later do the right thing to protect small businesses from being collateral damage. While some associations were in favor and willing to make that jump, we put our foot down and said no in order to protect our Members from unintended consequences. The bill did not move.
5. Russian vodka: The invasion of Ukraine by Russia set off a string of boycotts, and one was Russian vodka. The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association was one of the first associations in the country to support a boycott of Russian vodka. This advocacy effort gained significant publicity across the country for the association.

Bonus Pick

TavernPAC: Our PAC saved up its funds to use in 2022 since it was an election year and unleashed the most political contributions we’ve given in recent years. Best yet, every state representative or senator running for re-election that received funds from TavernPAC won. That includes several in leadership positions in caucuses and committees.

Pass the Credit Card Competition Act of 2022

The following is a guest editorial that has been published in newspapers across Pennsylvania and sent to Sen. Pat Toomey. This guest editorial is part of a coalition effort that includes the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Pennsylvania Petroleum Association, and Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania.

Inflation continues to eat away at the budgets of our families here in Pennsylvania and across the nation. In many ways, our industries are on the front lines – we provide food, fuel, lodging, and community to families hard pressed to manage in these times. Because of this, we’re super sensitive to costs, and to not raising prices unless and until we’re forced to.

Accordingly, we examine every cost to us, that goes into the products and services we offer. Some of those costs are not in our control and our set by the companies we buy our inventory from. But there are other costs that can be reduced. Credit card swipe fees are one such cost and we’re joining together today to ask Congress to pass legislation now before the House and Senate, that would reduce these fees by enabling competition in the credit card payment network system.

Many consumers and businesses use credit cards daily to make purchases and manage cash. What many don’t realize is that every time we use a card, Visa, Mastercard, and the other big credit card companies charge on average between 2 and 4% of the total transaction cost. That’s a direct cost to consumers and it’s as big, or bigger, than the total markup charged by most grocery stores.

It may sound small, but it’s not. In fact, credit card swipe fees cost the average family around $900 every year, or about $75 per month – just to use the card you may already pay an annual fee to use, as well as interest on any balance owed. The reason is simple: Visa, Mastercard, and others own the payment networks that process credit card purchases. And, if we want to take credit cards, merchants must use their network.

No negotiation. Just pay up.

It’s anti-competitive and should be changed now.

That’s what the Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 would do: enable competing payment networks so merchants could choose the best option for their business, and for their customers. Reducing swipe fees would help us hold the line on rising prices and pass those savings along to our customers, and there are really no downsides.

Contrary to what the big credit card lobbyists are saying, enabling competing payment networks would not impact rewards programs, acceptability of cards, or consumer choice. It will create a more secure payment processing environment where there are backup networks available in the event of a problem.

But the big credit card companies are fighting this change in every way they can. That should come as no surprise as they raked in $138 billion dollars in swipe fees in 2021 alone. That’s over and above all the other fees consumers pay to use cards.

Credit card swipe fees are added to the cost of just about everything most of us buy. Merchants really have no choice but to do this so, even if you don’t use a card on a purchase, you’re still paying a portion of your cost to cover those fees. Take for example the cost of transportation. High swipe fees are eating into tight margins for gas stations and fuel providers who then have to pass on these costs to consumers and hire less people.

There’s simply no reason that this system should be allowed to continue. Congress should be fostering competition in the marketplace, not hidden monopolies like the credit card payment system. It’s a system that’s been broken for years. Now is the time to fix it.

We’re main street businesses…places people go almost every day. We’re close to the communities we serve, and we know what pressure family budgets are facing today as prices rise relentlessly. We’re committed to holding the line as best we can, and we’re asking Congress to help us by passing the Credit Card Competition Act today. It won’t fix the inflation problem, but it will help us do our part to hold the line for our families. Consumers need a break.

Pennsylvania Licensed  Beverage and Tavern Association

Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association

Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association

Pennsylvania Petroleum Association

Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania

Lynne Kelly

By Lynne Kelly, AIC
Loss Control Specialist
Illinois Casualty Company

Restaurants and bars are complicated operations with changing electrical needs. Often, during inspections, our Loss Control Specialists find that these needs are being met by use of extension cords and gang plugs, but their use is not a permanent solution and can prove to be a fire hazard. The following guidelines should be observed when using extension cords and power strips in any situation.

• Extension cords and power strips/surge protectors/Relocatable Power Taps (RPTs) should not be used together.
• Extension cords and power strips/surge protectors/RPTs should only be used for low power load equipment, such as computers and audio-visual equipment. They are not meant to be used for microwaves, refrigerators/freezers, toaster ovens, or space heaters. Use in this manner can cause equipment to overheat and may result in a fire.
• Cords should be properly rated for the way they are being used and should be approved by an independent testing laboratory.
• Extension cords should not be run through walls, doorways, ceilings, or floors. If cords are covered, heat cannot escape, which may result in a fire.
• Extension cords should not be stapled or nailed to walls or baseboards.
• Outdoor extension cords should be kept free of snow and standing water.
• Gang plugs should not be used as they may overtax electrical systems and result in fire.
• Extension cords and power strips are temporary, never meant to be used as a permanent solution, and should be unplugged from wall outlets when not in use.

A heavy reliance on extension cords, gang plugs, and power strips, surge protectors, or RPTs indicates that there are too few outlets to meet the needs of the operation. The best way to remedy this is to contact an electrician and have additional electrical outlets installed where needed.

ICC’s Loss Control Specialists are knowledgeable and consult with our insureds about these and other hazards during inspections to help protect their operations and property. To find an agent in your area, visit www.ilcasco.com/find-an-agent.

Illinois Casualty Company is the exclusive preferred vendor of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association for liquor liability and other business insurances. 

Let’s say you hold an off-premises catering permit (“OPCP”). Can you use your permit for an event taking place at a privately-owned concert venue where tickets will be sold. Or for that matter … any private event where tickets are being sold for entry?

According to a July 2022 Advisory Opinion from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, the answer is that it depends.

As our Members know, holders of restaurant licenses and hotel licenses may apply for and obtain an OPCP, which allows the permittee to hold a “catered function” off its licensed premises and on otherwise unlicensed premises. A “catered function” is defined as “the furnishing of food prepared on the premises or brought onto the premises already prepared in conjunction with alcoholic beverages for the accommodation of a person or an identifiable group of people, not the general public, who made arrangements for the function at least thirty days in advance.”

Neither the owner of the property nor the OPCP applicant may sell tickets to a catered function unless one of the following conditions is met:

• the applicant has contracted with an eligible entity for the function, and the function is being used to raise money for the eligible entity’s organization;
• the applicant has contracted with a nonprofit organization as defined under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514, 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)), for an event which has the sole purpose of raising funds for that nonprofit organization; or
• the applicant has contracted with an organization that holds taxexempt status under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Therefore, it would only be permissible for you to use your OPCP at an event where tickets will be sold, if the entity selling the tickets qualifies under one of the three conditions defined above.