PA House Makes History by Passing Liquor Privatization Bill

Getting Pennsylvania out of the liquor business has been debated for decades, but legislation to change the current system never made it to a vote until this week. On Thursday, the House made history when it approved House Bill 790 by a vote of 105-90 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.

I voted in favor of the bill because selling liquor is not a core function of state government and consumers are demanding more choice and convenience.

Also this week, the House unanimously passed House Bill 421, which would end “triple dipping” by retirees. The practice involves an individual who collects a public pension or private retirement benefit while returning to work, only to collect unemployment compensation when leaving the job. In the last three years, 638 applications were filed by state retirees to collect nearly $2.8 million in “triple dipping” benefits. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.

In addition, the House unanimously passed and sent to the Senate legislation that would give crime victims a say during a prisoner’s parole process. House Bill 492 would allow a victim or victim representative to appear personally before the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole and provide testimony in connection with an inmate’s application for parole.

The bill was inspired by a case in the Philadelphia area in which a convicted murderer was granted parole before completing his maximum sentence without input from the victim’s family. The decision was later reversed.