Pa. GOP bill to privatize wine, liquor sales under construction
A bill to allow private licensees to take over the state-controlled sale of wine and liquor in Pennsylvania is under construction by House and Senate Republicans.
An architect, Sen. Charles McIlhinney of Bucks County, said Friday the plan would deliver about $220 million more to the state treasury each year.
McIlhinney says House and Senate negotiators agreed to the concept, but still need to draft the bill before it can come up for a vote in McIlhinney’s committee.
He says the bill would allow nearly 14,000 holders of licenses to sell beer to pay a higher license fee to sell wine and liquor. Meanwhile, wholesalers that market and ship wine and liquor would pay a percentage of their sales as a license fee.
Gov. Tom Wolf opposes the system’s privatization.
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