Feb. 26, 2015
HARRISBURG – Rep. Kurt Masser (R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland) voted in favor of
House Bill 466, a bill to privatize the sale of wine and spirits in the Commonwealth in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today. Masser, a member of the House Liquor Control Committee, made the following statement after today’s vote:
“Government should focus on its core functions. Selling alcohol is absolutely not a core government function, but regulating the sale of alcohol and enforcing related laws absolutely is. Our state government needs to ensure that it is doing all it can to control underage drinking, binge drinking and nuisance bars. Additionally, it needs to treat addiction and other issues related to the misuse of alcohol, like the serious problems that they are.
“The vast majority of Pennsylvanians agree that the private sector can do a better job of running this business. The current system proves their point, as over the last 14 years, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s (PLCB) expenses have grown faster than its revenues, and they’ve far exceeded the rate of inflation. During this time, expenses have increased by over 77 percent; the inflation rate during this time was 33.6 percent – totaling less than half. This is a simple issue – the current monopoly we are in has proven unsustainable. Using the PLCB’s own numbers, in less than 10 years, the taxpayers are going to be subsidizing this enterprise.
“The people of Pennsylvania deserve to have the opportunity to shop for alcohol with convenience, as residents of 48 other states already have. When visitors from out of state come into my business and ask me where they can get a bottle of wine and a case of beer, I cringe to see their expression as I answer. Most of them have never even heard of a ‘state store’ before, because every other state (except Utah) has realized that the private sector is the right answer. It’s time to come into the 21st century and get our state government out of the business of selling alcohol.”
House Bill 466 has been sent to the Senate for consideration. More information, including specific details about license costs and availability, is available online at
PAHouseGOP.com.
Representative Kurt Masser
107th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
kcorbin@pahousegop.com
RepMasser.com / Facebook.com/RepMasser