Committee approves bill treating long-closed sites as new liquor-license locations, applies proximity rules

The House Liquor Control Committee on Wednesday approved House Bill 559, as amended, a measure that would require the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to treat a retail importing or distributor license transfer to a previously unlicensed or long-closed site as a new location for license approval, making applicable all statutory proximity requirements.

Representative Isaacson, who sponsored the bill, said the change aims to give surrounding communities a say when a facility that has been closed for an extended period seeks a new liquor license. He told the committee that “in the urban area that I live in, neighborhoods change so much that you wanna make sure that you know what's going into a facility,” and that treating very-long-closed sites as new locations would provide community notice and standing.

Committee staff member Lynn explained the bill’s effect on licensing and defined which retail licenses are covered. The committee adopted a technical amendment, A0657, that clarifies the bill’s definition of retail licenses to enumerate restaurants, clubs, hotels and retail dispensers and removes a double negative in the draft language.

Chairman of the committee called for and recorded no negative votes on the amendment and later on the bill as amended; the chairman announced the bill was “affirmatively approved.” The committee record shows no roll-call tallies in the transcript.

The action in committee does not itself change state law; any change would require further votes in the full House and, if passed there, consideration by the Senate and the governor. The bill text as explained directs the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to apply existing proximity requirements when reviewing transfers or new licenses at locations that meet the bill’s definition of previously unlicensed or long-closed sites.