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Push to Close PA State Stores

by: iradiotom - Philadelphia, PA
started: 07/09/11 12:10 pm | updated: 07/09/11 12:10 pm

House Majority Leader Mike Turzai hopes to proclaim The Liquor Control Board is dead.

Turzai is ready to unveil a bill to replace the state liquor system, which has been in place since the 1930's, with private enterprise.

The plan is drawing criticism from Democrats and unionists who say the current system works and provides a steady stream of state revenue.

Turzai believes that the government has no business selling alcohol and he has the support of Governor Corbett who favors privatizing.

Turzai advocates auctioning hundreds of wholesale and retail store licenses while revamping the tax structure to ensure that the state continues to profit from sales. He has estimated that the licenses could fetch as much as $2 billion, but opponents say an auction would draw far less.

"The numbers just don't add up," said State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.). Neither will the votes, he predicted, saying he did not think Turzai could garner enough support, even in a Republican-controlled Capitol statehouse, to push privatization through.

The State Store system has been in place since 1933, when Prohibition ended. Republicans have been trying for three decades to privatize the stores but have found too little traction to override fierce opposition not only from Democrats and unions, but from social conservatives who warn against the moral consequences of loosening state control of alcohol.

Corbett, the latest Republican governor to back this cause, has commissioned the Philadelphia consulting firm PFM to study the benefits and drawbacks of turning over wine and spirits sales to private retailers. PFM's report is due later this month.

Evans, who opposes privatizing, said no one had made a compelling argument for scrapping the current system. That system, he said, kicks tens of millions into state coffers, provides good-paying, "family-sustaining" jobs, and ensures that liquor is sold responsibly.

LCB officials have consistently said that the State Stores provide excellent service and selection, as well as competitive prices. They also tout the agency's mission to sell liquor responsibly.

Last week, board officials announced that they had a banner year, with sales for fiscal 2010-11 setting a record at nearly $2 billion. That allowed the agency to transfer a record $496 million to the state treasury.

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