Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Pledges Cooperative Approach to Implementing Historic Liquor Reform Changes
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following Governor Wolf's signing of House Bill 1690, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) pledged its cooperative commitment to successful implementation of historic reform to Pennsylvania liquor laws that will allow for greater consumer convenience for Pennsylvanians.
"Enactment of this law – which includes initiatives the PLCB has long supported, including flexibility in pricing, extended store hours, expanded Sunday sales, enhanced direct shipping options, loyalty programs, additional couponing opportunities and Pennsylvania Lottery sales at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores – heralds an exciting new beginning for the PLCB and Pennsylvania consumers of wine, spirits and beer," said Board Chairman Tim Holden.
Board Member Mike Negra added, "This law transformatively changes the PLCB's responsibilities such that we can now move away from decades-old prohibitionist restrictions on alcohol sales and pursue meaningful improvements to access and convenience for Pennsylvania consumers."
The PLCB has begun a comprehensive review of the many significant changes this law makes to regulatory, licensing, product procurement and marketing activities, among others.
"We are excited to tackle the monumental challenge ahead of us, and we pledge to do so diligently and cooperatively, communicating openly all along the way with those impacted by and interested in these changes," said Board Member Michael Newsome. "Understandably, however, a 100-plus-page bill overhauling decades-old practices includes inherent complexities that must be approached deliberatively."
The PLCB will move as quickly as possible in establishing new licensing applications and processes for direct wine shipping, casino licenses and wine permits for hotel and restaurant licensees. The agency will also immediately begin considering which stores will feature Lottery sales and/or have expanded Sunday sales hours as soon as the law becomes effective in August.
Other new authorizations the law provides the PLCB, including additional pricing and marketing flexibility, will likely be longer-term considerations.
"We commit to cooperation and open communication with the administration, the legislature, licensees, wine and spirits vendors, beer distributors, our retail customers and other stakeholders as we begin transforming Pennsylvania's beverage alcohol landscape in coming weeks and months," said Chairman Holden.
The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates more than 600 wine and spirits stores statewide and licenses more than 20,000 beverage alcohol producers and retailers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling more than $14.5 billion since the agency's inception – are returned to Pennsylvania's General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania's schools, health and human services programs and law enforcement and public safety initiatives across the state, among other things. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit www.lcb.state.pa.us.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Brassell, 717.919.1905
SOURCE Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
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