On July 28, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, unveiled House Bill 11, detailing his vision of the privatization of the commonwealth’s liquor and wine wholesale and retail operations. While H.B. 11 has not yet been formally proposed — as the General Assembly is out on its summer recess — the measure has already attracted much media and political attention, including drawing legislators and other interested parties to hearings before the Pennsylvania House of Representative’s liquor control committee over the last several weeks.
Although H.B. 11 has several objectives, the focus has largely been on the ability of the commonwealth to receive significant lump sum payments in exchange for the sale of liquor licenses. However, in seeking to maximize the money the commonwealth could receive from these sales, H.B. 11, as currently drafted, creates a situation whereby the commonwealth will fundamentally entangle itself in the business relationship between wine and liquor manufacturers and their designated wholesalers.
