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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 18, 2020 04:28 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Thomas H. Killion |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Non-Profit Organizations and Alcohol Sales at Private Events |
| In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation that would provide several financially challenged Pennsylvania non-profit organizations the opportunity to provide alcohol for sale at the private events that they host. As the Commonwealth struggles to recover from the ongoing pandemic, our non-profit organizations find themselves in a dire financial situation. Many rely on visitors for a portion of their funding; this had been prohibited for months, and then severely restricted. They are also struggling to pay for the costs associated with modifying their physical plants, purchasing sanitation supplies, and paying staff for additional cleaning services. To add to their burden, these groups also rely on state and federal support, which is now either reduced or possibly being eliminated. In order to assist these organizations, I intend to introduce legislation that would amend the definition of “public venue” within the Liquor Code (47 P.S. Sec. 1-102). This would allow a Pennsylvania history museum, a land preservation organization, a community arts center, and a national historic landmark home, to provide alcohol to individuals that rent their spaces for special, private events, such as weddings or anniversaries. Currently, these organizations rent their spaces to private individuals, other institutions and business groups, but do not provide the alcohol for cocktail receptions and dinners. Instead, the renters provide their own alcohol. While the renters are required by law to buy the alcohol in-state, there are no enforcement mechanisms in place to enforce that requirements, so many renters buy their alcohol from neighboring states, such as Delaware bordering my 9th Senatorial District. This legislation would help provide our non-profit organizations the opportunity to earn much-needed revenue from the sale of alcohol to their renters. Additionally, it would help our Commonwealth secure additional revenue, which is also much-needed during these difficult times. Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation which would benefit many non-profit organizations throughout the Commonwealth. |