PRINTER'S NO. 1148
No. 37 Session of 1981
INTRODUCED BY ALDEN, POTT, COHEN, PRATT, MRKONIC, MORRIS, PISTELLA, BROWN, E. Z. TAYLOR AND SIEMINSKI, MARCH 24, 1981
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 25, 1981
In the House of Representatives, March 24, 1981 1 WHEREAS, Recent incidents reported to the House of 2 Representatives indicate that the investigative process and 3 personnel of the Liquor Control Board are failing in their 4 responsibilities; and 5 WHEREAS, Customers of State liquor stores have expressed many 6 complaints about the location, layout, selection, service and 7 general inefficiency of our State stores; and 8 WHEREAS, The State-operated system, unlike free enterprise 9 retailing, inherently creates a disincentive to both State store 10 management and employees to adequately serve the public; and 11 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the world's 12 largest purveyor of wines and distilled spirits, being committed 13 to a liquor control system since 1933; and 14 WHEREAS, The net profits of the system were consistently 15 above $50,000,000 per year from 1968 until 1973, and had 16 decreased to $27,000,000 in 1977, with the Governor's Budget 17 Office projecting a State store deficit by 1983; and
1 WHEREAS, The entire management practices of the liquor 2 control system and related legal, regulatory and policy 3 considerations are in need of an in-depth study in order to 4 properly reconcile the objectives of control and profit; 5 therefore be it 6 RESOLVED, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives 7 appoint a committee of seven members of the House of 8 Representatives, four of whom shall be proposed by the Majority 9 Leader and three of whom shall be proposed by the Minority 10 Leader to conduct an overall investigation of the current 11 practices, management and administration of the Pennsylvania 12 Liquor Control Board and the State store system. This 13 investigation should concentrate on but not be limited to the 14 above mentioned considerations; and be it further 15 RESOLVED, That the committee may hold public hearings, take 16 testimony, and make its study at such places as it deems 17 necessary within this Commonwealth. Each member of the committee 18 shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations to 19 witnesses appearing before the committee; and be it further 20 RESOLVED, That within 30 calendar days after the committee 21 has made its report, the chairman of the committee shall cause a 22 record of all expenses incurred by the committee, or the members 23 thereof, which are payable at Commonwealth expense, to be filed 24 with the Speaker of the House and the Speaker shall cause the 25 same to be entered in the journal thereof. No expenses incurred 26 by the committee or any member thereof shall be reimbursable by 27 the Chief Clerk unless such expenses shall first have been 28 included as an expense item in the record heretofore required; 29 and be it further 30 RESOLVED, That the committee make a report of its findings 19810H0037R1148 - 2 -
1 and recommendations as soon as possible to the General Assembly. A21L82DGS/19810H0037R1148 - 3 -