PLCB Pledges to Move Quickly on Wine Modernization
In the wake of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s signing of a wine privatization bill, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) said it will move as quickly as possible in establishing new licensing applications and processes for direct wine shipping, casino licenses and wine permits for hotel and restaurant licensees.
The PLCB has begun a comprehensive review of the many significant changes this law makes to regulatory, licensing, product procurement and marketing activities, among others.
The agency will also immediately begin considering which stores will feature Lottery sales and/or have expanded Sunday sales hours as soon as the law becomes effective in August.
Other new authorizations the law provides the PLCB, including additional pricing and marketing flexibility, will likely be longer-term considerations.
“Enactment of this law – which includes initiatives the PLCB has long supported, including flexibility in pricing, extended store hours, expanded Sunday sales, enhanced direct shipping options, loyalty programs, additional couponing opportunities and Pennsylvania Lottery sales at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores – heralds an exciting new beginning for the PLCB and Pennsylvania consumers of wine, spirits and beer,” said Board Chairman Tim Holden.
Board Member Mike Negra added, “This law transformatively changes the PLCB’s responsibilities such that we can now move away from decades-old prohibitionist restrictions on alcohol sales and pursue meaningful improvements to access and convenience for Pennsylvania consumers.”
“We are excited to tackle the monumental challenge ahead of us, and we pledge to do so diligently and cooperatively, communicating openly all along the way with those impacted by and interested in these changes,” said Board Member Michael Newsome. “Understandably, however, a 100-plus-page bill overhauling decades-old practices includes inherent complexities that must be approached deliberatively.”