NEW LIQUOR LAW CHANGES! A number of significant changes to the Pennsylvania Liquor. Code have been passed recently. On June 28, 2011 Governor

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1 NEW LIQUOR LAW CHANGES! by William B. Morrin, Esquire A number of significant changes to the Pennsylvania Liquor Code have been passed recently. On June 28, 2011 Governor Corbett signed House Bill No. 148 into law. The changes are all now currently in effect. Below is summary of the changes which will most likely affect you: 1. HAPPY HOUR EXTENDED. The law has been changed to allow you to have up to four (4) hours of Happy Hour per day. The prior law allowed a total of only 2 hours per day. This will allow you to adjust your Happy Hours for slower or busier days. However, you must now post a notice of all Happy Hours at least seven (7) days in advance. The following restrictions still apply: (a) You can still only have up to a total of fourteen (14) hours of Happy Hour per week. That is, you might want to have a 4-hour Happy Hour on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but that would leave you only 2 remaining hours for the rest of the week. (b) A Happy Hour is still defined as a period of time during which you may reduce the price of some or all of your drinks. You still cannot have all you can drink or two for one or any of the other prohibited promotions. 1

2 (c) You still must stop the Happy Hour at 12:00 Midnight. There still can be no promotions after Midnight. (d) The new law does not make it clear if the hours still have to be consecutive, but it is clear that the prices cannot change during those hours. 2. NO MORE PHILADELPHIA TAKE-OUT BEER PERMIT. The much maligned City of Philadelphia Take-Out Beer Permit has been struck down. On July 11, 2011, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rendered a decision stating that the requirement of Philadelphia licensees to apply for an Off-Premises Sales Permit ( OPS ) from the City of Philadelphia s Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is unenforceable. Licensees located in Philadelphia County may now sell malt or brewed beverages for off-premise consumption (up to 192 fl. ounces) without the requirement of obtaining an OPS. That means no more $ to the City and $ to the state. That means no more ugly green posters. In fact, the Off Premises Sales application has been removed from the PLCB website. Great news for all Philly retail licensees! 3. NEW OFF-PREMISES CATERING PERMIT. Here s one that came out of nowhere. Did you ever wish that you could serve liquor at a catered event off your licensed premises. Now you can! All hotel, restaurant and eating place licensees can now apply 2

3 for a special permit which allows them to cater functions off the licensed premises, where they can serve food and liquor. A catered function is defined as the furnishing of food prepared on the premises or brought onto the premises already prepared in conjunction with alcoholic beverages for the accommodation of a person or an identifiable group of people who made arrangements for the function at least 48 hours in advance. The fee is $ per year for the initial permit. No further fee will be charged for any subsequent permitted events issued to the applicant. Alcoholic beverages may only be provided during the hours the licensee can normally sell such beverages (until 2:30 A.M. for most licensees). All servers at the catered site must be certified in compliance with the Responsible Alcohol Management provisions ( RAMP ). Any catered function cannot last longer than one (1) day, and no more than fifty (50) such events may be held by the particular licensee in any given year. A catered function cannot be held on a premises already licensed. Only licensees holding an active license can apply for the permit. No permits can be issued to a location that is subject to a pending license renewal objection by the Board, or a pending license suspension or the one (1) year prohibition on the issuance or transfer of a license due to a citation action. Written notice of the catered function must be provided to the 3

4 local police or, if none, to the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the function. No alcohol may be taken from the permitted location, but the applicant may transport alcohol to and from its licensed premises. Retail licensees may sell wine, liquor and malt or brewed beverages by the glass, open bottle or other container, and in any mixture for consumption on the permitted premises. Eating Place licensees may only sell malt and brewed beverages on the permitted premises. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A REMINDER ABOUT DAILY DRINK SPECIALS The regulations of the Board dealing with Discount Pricing Practices say that you can have a Adaily drink special@ where you discount the price of one (1) specific Atype@ of alcoholic beverage all day, up until 12:00 Midnight. What constitutes a Atype@ of drink has been the subject of debate for several years. When it comes to beer, the PLCB has stated that you must offer a specific brand of draft beer, such as ABud on draft@ or ACoors Light bottles.@ Here are some examples of what is and what is not permitted and when it comes to the daily drink special: Allowed Not Allowed 4

5 Bud draft Heinekin bottles Rum and Coke Margarita All draft beer All imported beer All mixed drinks All tequila If you have any questions, you should consult with your liquor attorney. A REMINDER ABOUT NOISE The regulations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board state that the sound of music or other entertainment cannot be heard outside of the license premises. This means that if an agent of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement stands outside of your bar, and he can hear your jukebox, that is a violation and you will likely receive a citation. Such citations carry penalties ranging from $50.00 to $1, for the first offence. What is more troubling is the possible cumulative effect of such citations. If you get too many violations against your license the Board can decide not to renew your license which means you are out of business. Many people have complained that this law is unfair since it does not carry any requirement that the noise actually bother someone, or that the music be of a certain decibel level. Efforts have been made to change the law, to no avail. The law is what it is. Licensees should be cautious and make sure that 5

6 their music or other entertainment cannot be heard from the outside. 6