The Pennsylvania legislature has passed a bill that makes things tougher on those arrested for driving while under the influence.

Senate Bill 961 was presented to Governor Wolf on October 18 after concurrence in the Senate by a 45-4 vote a day earlier. In addition, the bill passed in the House 184-1 just prior to the Senate’s final action.

Dear Members,

In the October 15 edition of Mid-Month Report, it was noted that there may be activities in the final voting days of the session that could impact tavern owners. Specifically, the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association through its lobbying firm ERG Partners was closely monitoring HB 1497 and HB 864.

Sure enough, in the days that followed that newsletter, those bills did see action. The following is an update.

HB 1497

There was an attempt in the Senate to amend HB 1497 to give Pennsylvania breweries a tax advantage over all other liquor licenses. The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association joined efforts through a strong coalition with other licensees to defeat this movement.

The language contained in a proposed amendment would have given breweries a special tax break by allowing them to charge sales tax on prices earlier and lower in the distribution process than any other retail licensee, putting breweries at a taxpayer-subsidized advantage over restaurants, taverns, grocery stores, clubs, convenience stores, and beer distributors.

This amendment, which was not the subject of any vetting or public hearing, claimed to remedy a Department of Revenue Tax Bulletin, not scheduled to go into effect until July of 2019, which closed a theoretical loophole that brewers argue allows sales by breweries to be the only beer sales in Pennsylvania on which sales tax is never charged.  This amendment, rather than making the sales tax structure uniform, would perpetuate breweries’ tax advantage over all other licensees making the new tax scheme not just unfair but also constitutionally suspect.

The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association joined with eight other organizations in a coalition that urged State Senators to oppose giving special tax subsidies to breweries.

In the end, the tax advantage was removed from the amendment, and HB 1497 did pass the Senate.  The bill addresses issues with alcoholic ciders, mixed use town center development projects, and public venues, but does not give a tax advantage to Pennsylvania breweries. A part of the bill also allows slot machine licensees to apply for a casino liquor license and sets a $1 million price on that license.  The bill now sits in the House Rules Committee, but may not get consideration before the General Assembly adjourns Nov 30.

HB 864

HB 864 addresses the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act.  And, you may recall that this bill in the Spring was amended in the Senate with the help of Senator Rich Alloway to help tavern owners by allowing them to keep a greater amount of net revenue and also to pay fewer taxes on gaming supplies.

That amendment passed in the Spring, but then the full bill was defeated the very next day.

The bill came back to life in recent weeks, but the Senate voted to revert back to an earlier version without the Alloway amendments.

However, a final charge by the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association lobbying team and others encouraged friends in the Senate to address the business model issues that are a negative to those interested in small games of chance.

On the floor of the Senate, two amendments were brought together, both helping taverns. An amendment from Senator Wayne Fontana put parts of the Alloway amendment back in play. And an amendment from Senator Lisa Boscola added “pools” as part of tavern gaming. The bill was amended on third consideration on October 17, and passed 42-7, before moving to the House Rules Committee last evening.  Again, we are unsure whether the House and Senate may return for further votes this fall.

Two important parts for tavern owners include an improvement in the percentage of net revenue allowed to be kept by tavern owners and a change in tax structure.

Regarding net revenue, currently tavern owners can keep 35 percent of net revenue. HB 864 was amended to allow tavern owners to keep 45 percent.

Regarding taxes, the current imposed tax of 60 percent of net revenue from tavern games sold by a licensed distributor to a licensee would be changed to 51 percent. In addition, sales tax may only be charged on the licensed distributor’s fee on the cost of tickets.

Tavern games in the amendment were defined as pull-tabs, tavern daily drawings, 50/50 drawings, e-tabs, pools, and tavern raffles.

What’s next for these bills?

Both bills currently sit in the House Rules Committee. October 17 was the last voting day of the session on the calendar for both chambers. At this point, it would be up to the House and Senate to come back to finish these bills and dozens of others that fell short of final passage last night.

At the moment, there are plenty of rumors floating around the halls of the capitol. While the bills could be dead, there is a slim possibility that they are not. The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association will continue to monitor this, and encourage the House to return after the elections to finalize HB 864 as it is written today. We will also continue to monitor HB 1497 to ensure no one receives a tax advantage over taverns.  In either event, we were successful in re-engaging on the hill and setting the stage for future efforts to level the playing field for all licensees.

So that we do not cause confusion, if HB 864 is finalized by the House before the end of this legislative session, the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association will provide members with a full analysis to help better understand changes.  At this moment, the current laws still exist, and tavern owners should continue to follow existing rules around gaming.

What should tavern owners do next?

It’s important for Pennsylvania Senators to hear from you with words of thanks. Senators Fontana, Alloway, and Boscola all deserve praise for their efforts on HB 864. So please take a moment and thank them either by phone or email.

There were a total of 42 (out of 49) senators who voted to pass HB 864 with the tavern-friendly language. A complete list can be found by clicking here. If you see your senator on that list, thank them as well.

To find contact information for any state senator, please visit http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/

Final thoughts

As noted above, the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association with a new lobbying strategy and new team – as well as a dedicated Board of Directors – was successful in re-engaging on the hill. Our association played a role in stopping one unfriendly amendment, while we helped move another that was friendlier.

Our efforts helped set the stage for the future to be on a level playing field.

Since September when we hired ERG Partners and started working with John Nikoloff as our chief lobbyist, positive strides are being made.  New relationships are being made, while damaged ones are being mended.

Throughout the fall session days, our mantra has been “The Taverns will continue to oppose legislation that provides advantages for competing organizations and categories of retail licensees at the expense of others and support legislation that levels the playing field for all.”

That’s fair, and will continue into the future.

This is indeed an exciting time to belong to the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association!

In an effort to continue the dialogue about the dangers of underage drinking, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is encouraging students from across the commonwealth to participate in the 27th annual Alcohol Awareness Poster Contest.

“Earlier this year, we unveiled a new alcohol education campaign called Know When, Know How. This campaign teaches parents how to start a conversation with their children about the dangers of underage drinking. Our annual poster contest is an excellent way to continue those conversations,” said PLCB Chairman Tim Holden.

The contest is open to all Pennsylvania students in kindergarten through 12th grade, including those who are home-schooled or in private or parochial schools. Students may enter through their schools, clubs, or scout troops, or individually.

Entries must feature a clear no-use message about underage drinking and may be created using any artistic medium. Students are encouraged to use positive messages and images, such as the benefits of being alcohol free or alternatives to underage drinking.

Each year, approximately 50 posters are selected by a panel of judges for recognition. Each artist who creates a selected poster will be notified of his or her accomplishment and invited to attend a recognition ceremony in Harrisburg in April 2019, which is Alcohol Awareness Month.

Several students will receive $50, and one student from each grade (K-12) will receive $25. Some of the winning designs may be reproduced in various formats and distributed across Pennsylvania.

To learn more, click here.

NorthNewJersey.com recently reported that Garden State officials believe microbreweries have become too active, and have decided to put the clamps down.

Six years ago, in an attempt to help the young industry, New Jersey passed a law that allowed microbreweries to serve their products in-house and sell more beer to go. Since then, activities held at microbrews have grown significantly.

After a “special ruling” by the director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, New Jersey’s microbreweries are now limited to holding 25 on-site special events annually. This would include events like trivia nights and live entertainment.

They will also be unable to have take-out menus from area restaurants as well as host more than 52 private parties a year. In addition, they’ll be prohibited from showing sports on TV unless it is one of their 25 special events.

The original law was meant to increase craft beer sales at other establishments such as bars and restaurants. Instead, the law was misinterpreted, resulting in new venues for consumption with the same rights as bars and restaurants.

To read more, click here.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board recently reported that fiscal year 2017-18 was a record year for retail sales and net income.

According to the PLCB, sales totaled $2.59 billion (including liquor and sales taxes), a $67.8 million or 2.7 percent increase over the prior year and previous retail sales record. The PLCB achieved year-over-year sales growth each year for at least the past two decades.

Net income for the year totaled a record $158.2 million, $53.4 million or 50.9 percent higher than the prior fiscal year. The substantial increase is due mainly to gross margin improvement, higher revenues from expired license auctions, and a commonwealth-wide credit to retiree medical expense related to settlement with a health insurer. Due to the PLCB’s ability to negotiate product acquisition costs and retail prices with wine and spirits suppliers, it achieved nine-tenths of a point growth in margin, or profitability – from 30.9 percent in fiscal year 2016-17 to 31.8 percent in 2017-18 – while maintaining fair and competitive prices for consumers.

Furthermore, contributions to state and local government beneficiaries totaled $749.6 million for the fiscal year.

To read more, click here to read an official announcement from the PLCB.

Bartenders, servers encouraged by PLBA, Health Secretary to get flu shot

(Harrisburg, Pa. – 9/10/18) Health care officials in Pennsylvania have a new friend in dealing with the upcoming flu season.

Across the state, tavern owners are being encouraged by the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage Association (PLBA) and health care officials to help keep themselves and their staffs healthy this coming fall and winter by suggesting they get a flu shot.

“No tavern or restaurant owner wants to see their employees at home sick or even worse in the hospital,” said Chuck Moran, executive director of the PLBA. “You certainly don’t want them working while being under the weather, and missing staff can negatively impact business. There’s just too much risk of spreading the flu to other staff or patrons.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza causes thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in lost productivity each year nationally.

For employers and employees that comes to a loss of nearly 17 million workdays each flu season. Furthermore, tens of thousands of people end up in hospitals, eventually impacting the cost of health insurance.

In Pennsylvania, between October 2017 and May 2018, there were more than 121,000 confirmed influenza

cases. That doesn’t consider others who may not have gone to their doctor to be tested. Allegheny County alone had 12,676 reported cases.

In an article published in the September edition of Pennsylvania Observer, the official magazine of the PLBA, Rachel Levine, MD, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health and Physician General, urged tavern owners to get a flu shot and to encourage their employees to do the same.

“Getting a flu shot is the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones, and those you come into contact with from the flu,” Secretary Levine said in the article. “Anyone who works in a public setting, surrounded by other people, is aware of the need to take precautions to remain healthy and safe.”

There will be some people who are unable to get a flu shot due to health reasons, but Secretary Levine believes that other than those exceptions, it’s a good idea to be vaccinated.

“The flu shot is safe, effective and the best form of defense against the flu,” she said.

Ena Saini, MD, a physician with Geisinger Holy Spirit Infectious Diseases in Camp Hill, supported Secretary Levine’s advice. She encourages her patients to get a flu shot annually and says it’s important for those in the hospitality industry to be cautious.

“Someone working in a restaurant or tavern may come in contact with hundreds of people every day,” said Dr. Saini. “All it takes is one contagious person to put others at risk. When that happens your first line of defense to protect yourself from getting sick is a flu shot.”

 

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The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage Association represents retail licensees in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Association formed after Prohibition in 1941 to ensure the legality, protection, and prosperity of the state’s liquor and beer retail licensed businesses. From corner bars, delis and neighborhood taverns to five-star restaurants and resorts, PLBA’s industry supports more than 100,000 Commonwealth jobs, and remains an established, important part of our communities. To learn more about the PLBA, visit www.pataverns.com.  The PLBA can be followed on Twitter via @TavernPA. Chuck Moran can be followed on Twitter via @ChuckMoran7.

 

York County law firm wants to help tavern owners with legal matters

(Harrisburg, PA – 8/4/18) The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association (PLBA) is pleased to announce that CGA Law Firm, a highly-recommended legal advisor to bars and restaurants, is the PLBA’s newest Associate Member.

“CGA Law Firm has more than 50 years of excellence,” said Chuck Moran, executive director for the PLBA. “We are excited that this new relationship will benefit our members.”

According to Moran, members who tap the expertise of CGA Law Firm will receive preferred member rates. In the past, they have represented licensees in PLCB and related matters including license transfers and amendments, defense of citations and enforcement actions, as well as Dram Shop actions.

Based in York, CGA Law Firm attorneys also provide a full range of business law services to clients, including asset purchases, stock and LLC membership transfers, sale of commercial and resident real estate and commercial leases and resolution of employment law matters.

Charles B. Calkins, Esq., who also serves as solicitor for the York County Licensed Beverage Association, says his firm stands ready to assist PLBA members with their needs. “We’re excited to be joining the PLBA, and believe members will find our services valuable.”

Calkins is the CGA Law Firm expert on beverage licenses and laws. He has trained other attorneys in the firm, including Christine Nentwig. Extremely knowledgeable, he has built a team that can meet the unique needs of this exciting industry and has done much to increase the breadth and scope of CGA Law Firm’s expertise in this area.

PLBA members should visit the preferred vendors section at www.pataverns.com to learn how to take advantage of this new relationship.

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The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage Association represents retail licensees in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Association formed after Prohibition in 1941 to ensure the legality, protection, and prosperity of the state’s liquor and beer retail licensed businesses. From corner bars, delis and neighborhood taverns to five-star restaurants and resorts, PLBA’s industry supports more than 100,000 Commonwealth jobs, and remains an established, important part of our communities. To learn more about the PLBA, visit www.pataverns.com.  The PLBA can be followed via Twitter @TavernPA. PLBA Executive Director Chuck Moran can be followed on Twitter via @ChuckMoran7.

For 51 years, CGA Law Firm has provided expertise and advice at the highest levels throughout Pennsylvania. This cohesive team of hard-working and skilled attorneys in South Central Pennsylvania has a reputation for producing extraordinary results for their clients in the areas of business and corporate law, tax law, real estate law, labor and employment law, estate planning and administration, elder law, bankruptcy and debt restructuring, family law (ex. divorce, child custody, child support, reproductive law), mediation/arbitration, litigation, municipal law, school law, and health law. CGA Law Firm truly lives up to their tag line, “One firm, all the law you need.”​ To learn more about CGA Law Firm, visit www.cgalaw.com. The CGA Law Firm can be followed via Facebook and Twitter @CGALawFirm.

 

 

UPDATE TO STORY BELOW: On September 1, the PLCB notified licensees that while they had anticipated credit cards on file would have expired and would need to be re-registered beginning September 1, this phase of the payment processing transition was delayed. Credit cards on file will remain active until further notice, and the PLCB will notify licensees when new credit card expiration and re-registration time frames are identified. 

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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is in the midst of transitioning to a new credit card processor, which will require some action on the part of licensees with credit cards on file. LOOP users should look for an email from the PLCB to notify them of the changes and that they need to re-register credit cards on file.

WHAT’S CHANGING?  The PLCB is changing its payment processing company, which will result in new PIN pads in stores and requires re-designation of credit cards on file with the new provider.

ALL LICENSEES WITH CREDIT CARDS ON FILE MUST RE-REGISTER THEIR CREDIT CARDS.

• Credit cards previously registered in LOOP will expire on Aug. 31.
• Credit cards registered in stores will expire Sept. 23.

Licensees are encouraged to re-register credit cards in LOOP beginning Sept. 1.  New LOOP users will need to create an account at www.plcbloop.pa.gov before designating credit cards.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores will begin accepting credit card on file registrations Sept. 24.

Regardless of whether a licensee opts to re-register via LOOP or in-store, all credit cards currently on file must be re-registered.

This change has no impact on existing ACH registrations, although all new ACH registrations must be completed in LOOP.

For more information, contact LOOP customer service at plcbloop@pa.gov or 800-332-7522 (option 5).

 

It appears Pennsylvania’s casinos want to shut down the state’s new iLottery program. On August 15, a coalition of seven casinos filed a complaint against the state Revenue Department, claiming the online games simulate slot machines and casino-style gambling which is in violation of the state’s lottery law and casino expansion Act 42.

According to news reports, casinos involved in the lawsuit include Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack, Parx Casino, The Meadows Casino Racetrack Hotel, Stadium Casino, Valley Forge Casino Resort, and Mohegan Sun Pocono.

The complaint states that “all of the iLottery games feature the same user interface as a slot machine, and have the same interactive appearance, feel and play experience that a player would expect from land-based and online slot machines.”

In an Associated Press news report, Lottery spokesperson Gary Miller said, “It is important to note that Act 42 authorized the lottery’s new games, which are part of an effort to continue delivering to our customers games that they want and where they want while generating the additional funds to stabilize the Lottery Fund and provide vital services to older Pennsylvanians.”

iLottery was introduced in May 2018.

Following validation of 47 bids received by the Aug. 2 deadline for the sixth restaurant license auction authorized by Act 39 of 2016, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is issuing Notices of Selection to top bidders on 19 licenses.

Winning bids range from $25,331 for licenses in Bradford and Clinton counties to $351,001 for a license in Plumstead Township, Bucks County. The average winning bid in the sixth auction was $97,928.

The number of bids received for each of the 19 licenses receiving bids ranged from one to seven.

Six licenses – one each in Armstrong, Cameron, Crawford, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Westmoreland counties – received no valid bids.

To read more from the PLCB on this auction, click here.

Or to go directly to a list of winning bids, click here.