Dear Legislator:
Onbehalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s (NTU’s) 17,000 members inPennsylvania, I urge you to cosponsor and work toward immediate enactment oflegislation authored by Representative Mark Mustio that would ensure greaterfiscal responsibility in the operations of the Pennsylvania Liquor ControlBoard (PLCB). This long-overdue proposal, House Bill 1661, requires priorapproval of the General Assembly and the Governor before any price or feeincrease from PLCB could be implemented.
Inan ideal commercial environment where buyers and sellers act as free agents,pricing decisions should be governed by market forces. Business owners chargewhat they hope to be fair for the value of their goods and services, whileconsumers render their judgment by “voting” with their dollars. TheCommonwealth’s policy toward wine and spirits is quite a distant departure fromthis model, since state government has bestowed a monopoly upon PLCB for thepackage-retail sale of such beverages within its borders. This practice, inturn, confers upon elected officials a special responsibility to hold PLCBaccountable for fees and charges that directly affect the people ofPennsylvania – people who generally have little choice but to shop within thestate-controlled system.
Meanwhile,for its part PLCB’s recent rate-setting behavior has hardly been reassuring.Earlier this year the Board nearly prevailed in a bid to boost the Logistics,Transportation and Merchandise Factor fee that could have considerablyincreased the financial burden on shoppers. More recently, in April, PLCB announceda new scheme that would convert this charge to a percentage-of-cost calculation.This would constitute a rather strange basis for a per-bottle add-on morecommonly called the “handling fee,” made all the more so by PLCB’s proposal forinstituting a bailment system for its warehouses (ironically diminishing itsown “handling” of stock).
Formany years, policymakers have had available to them a comprehensive andpractical response to problems such as these: extricate the government fromrunning (as opposed to regulating) the wine and liquor trade, thereby allowingPennsylvania retailers to provide these products to their fellow citizens. NTUwill continue advocating this approach for Pennsylvania and other states.During the interim, however, House Members should recognize their oversightresponsibility to protect Commonwealth residents from PLCB’s potentiallypredatory future acts. House Bill 1661 is an appropriate, non-controversialtool for this vital task, and our members hope you will actively support itsswift passage.
Sincerely,Pete SeppExecutiveVice President
108 North Alfred Street Ø Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Ø Phone: (703) 683-5700 Ø Fax: (703) 683-5722 Ø Web: www.ntu.org