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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 13, 2017 01:36 PM |
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| From: | Representative Stephen Kinsey |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Legislation to introduce a bill that requires any restaurant, hotel or club liquor licensee located in Philadelphia County to submit an application with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) if the licensee wishes to make substantial changes to the licensed premises or business model. |
| In the near future, I will introduce a bill that requires any restaurant, hotel or club liquor licensee located in Philadelphia County to submit an application with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) if the licensee wishes to make substantial changes to the licensed premises or business model. The licensee would be required to post public notice of the proposed changes for a period of 30 days, and residents who live within 500 feet of the establishment would have the chance to request a hearing on the proposed changes. The PLCB would be required to take into account the testimony of residents in deciding whether to approve the proposed changes. “Stop-and-go” establishments, which are primarily focused on providing liquor while offering minimal food options, have been a problem in Philadelphia for some time. Most of these establishments know the liquor laws very well, and as such, are often free of citations. Sometimes, a restaurant licensee operating as a bar will temporarily close down and reopen as a stop-and go-establishment. If the licensee has never had any citations and is obeying any conditional license agreements, residents have little recourse in preventing this type of business from coming to their neighborhood. My legislation would give residents the chance to weigh in when an R licensee in their neighborhood attempts to make major changes to the premises itself or the business model used. The bill also attempts to limit the burden on licensees by requiring the PLCB to approve the application for approval to make substantial changes to the licensed premises if no resident requests a hearing. Finally, my legislation will apply only to Philadelphia County in an effort to target only the problem of stop-and-go establishments. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB868