Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board discusses ‘proactive’ rationing
By Christen Smith | The Center Square
HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said its recent decision to ration sales of certain products was a “proactive” one, as supply chain disruptions will continue “well into 2022.”
“Under normal circumstances there would be very little difference between forecasted demand and supply received,” PLCB Chair Tim Holden said Wednesday during a joint House and Senate committee hearing. “We proactively decided to institute the bottle limits as a preventative measure to fairly distribute product and minimize out of stock situations.”
The board limited sales Sept. 17 to two bottles per customer for 43 products, including Hennessy, Don Julio and Jack Daniels. The rule affected retail and license holder sales, the latter of which appear to agree the policy was an inevitable consequence of pandemic-related supply chain issues.
“They knew something had to be done,” Holden said. “They were routinely going into stores and not getting products, so they had to realize something had to be done.”
David Wojnar, senior vice president and head of state public policy for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, told lawmakers the rationing “seems reasonable” because it discourages product hoarding.
Still, he said, the PLCB could waive out-of-stock fees normally imposed against licensees and focus on legislation that expands sales of canned cocktails to help the industry continue weathering pandemic challenges.
Lawmakers tried, and failed, to permit sales of the beverages, known as ready-to-drink cocktails, beyond the state store system to no avail in June.
Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, didn’t support the measure because it wasn’t tailored specifically to R and H license holders – restaurants, bars, taverns and hotels – and would give an unfair advantage to beer distributors, much like previous liquor modernization bills.
Instead, he pointed to other pending legislation that would boost grant funding, relax regulations for outdoor seating and discount liquor prices to better help small business taverns and restaurants.
There are several bills at the state Capitol, including grant funding, noise relief/outdoor seating and liquor discounting that would help small business taverns and licensed restaurants by easing some pressure.
“The developing situation with liquor availability is yet another thing that the industry must work through as a result of the pandemic while waiting for help that was promised before the budget passed,” Moran said.
“Between the lack of workers to shortages, as well as increased pricing of available supplies, difficulties for the industry continue.”
The Independent Fiscal Office said in April the hospitality and leisure sector experienced a disproportionate amount of job loss throughout the pandemic as the administration’s mitigation measures targeted their operations as sources of community spread.
IFO Executive Director Matthew Knittel said workforce for the sector declined 26.3% over the past year compared with 5.4% across all other industries. Revenues likewise plummeted 55.1% for the sector compared with only 32.6% for all others.
