A divided state House on Thursday sent a new proposal to privatize Pennsylvania’s government-run liquor system to the Senate, a plan not much different from a Republican-backed bill that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed in June.
The state House voted Thursday in a mostly party-line vote to pass a liquor privatization bill, though it appears to be a vehicle for a potential agreement tied to a yet to be determined state budget deal.
It’s hard to tell how much progress has been made behind closed doors in the nine days since Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican leaders announced their agreement on a budget framework.
While much of the buzz surrounding last week’s tentative budget deal in Harrisburg has focused on a hefty increase in the state sales tax – and the absence of any new levy on the state’s natural gas operations – there is a lesser debated, but not less important issue addressed.
Nothing about privatizing Pennsylvania’s government monopoly over wine and spirits sales is simple.
A proposal to reform liquor sales is just one of the many details that lawmakers and Governor Wolf must work out before a tentative budget agreement can be finalized and put up for a vote.
A state House committee passed a liquor privatization bill Monday in a party-line vote.
Legislation that would privatize Pennsylvania’s liquor distribution system has been resurrected as negotiations continue between lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf.
House Speaker Mike Turzai on Thursday introduced another privatization bill extracting Pennsylvania from the hooch business, but there’s no promise it will be the final iteration of liquor reform included within a broader state budget agreement that’s starting to take shape.
House Speaker Mike Turzai has introduced another privatization bill extracting Pennsylvania from the hooch business, but there’s no promise it will be the final iteration of liquor reform included within a broader state budget agreement that’s starting to take shape.