S0081B0996A01937     JLW:CDM  06/18/09     #90        A01937

AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL NO. 81

Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE DONATUCCI

Printer's No. 996

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Amend Bill, page 5, by inserting between lines 16 and 17

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Section 3.1.  Section 301 of the act is amended to read:

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Section 301.  Board to Establish State Liquor Stores.--(a)  

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The board shall establish, operate and maintain at such places

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throughout the Commonwealth as it shall deem essential and

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advisable, stores to be known as "Pennsylvania Liquor Stores,"

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for the sale of liquor and alcohol in accordance with the

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provisions of and the regulations made under this act; except

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that no store not so already located shall be located within

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three hundred feet of any elementary or secondary school, nor

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within a dry municipality without there first having been a

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referendum approving such location, nor shall any such store

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have an interior connection or interior passageway with an

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establishment that allows its patrons to bring their own liquor

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or alcohol for consumption on the premises whether or not the

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establishment possesses a license issued by the board. When the

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board shall have determined upon the location of a liquor store

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in any municipality, it shall give notice of such location by

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public advertisement in two newspapers of general circulation.

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In cities of the first class, the location shall also be posted

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for a period of at least fifteen days following its

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determination by the board as required in section 403(g) of this

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act. The notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the

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outside of the premises in which the proposed store is to

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operate or, in the event that a new structure is to be built in

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a similarly visible location. If, within five days after the

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appearance of such advertisement, or of the last day upon which

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the notice was posted, fifteen or more taxpayers residing within

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a quarter of a mile of such location, or the City Solicitor of

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the city of the first class, shall file a protest with the court

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of common pleas of the county averring that the location is

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objectionable because of its proximity to a church, a school, or

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to private residences, the court shall forthwith hold a hearing

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affording an opportunity to the protestants and to the board to

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present evidence. The court shall render its decision

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immediately upon the conclusion of the testimony and from the

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decision there shall be no appeal. If the court shall determine

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that the proposed location is undesirable for the reasons set

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forth in the protest, the board shall abandon it and find

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another location. The board may establish, operate and maintain

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such establishments for storing and testing liquors as it shall

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deem expedient to carry out its powers and duties under this

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act.

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(b)  The board may lease the necessary premises for such

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stores or establishments, but all such leases shall be made

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through the Department of General Services as agent of the

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board. The board, through the Department of General Services,

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shall have authority to purchase such equipment and appointments

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as may be required in the operation of such stores or

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establishments.