Today, the Pennsylvania House Liquor Control Committee passed HB 1512, a bill to repeal the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s (PLCB) flexible pricing program. Last week, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) Chief Economist David Ozgo and President and CEO of the American Distilled Spirits Association Matt Dogali testified before the committee to highlight the harmful impacts this program is having on consumers in Pennsylvania.
“We are grateful members of the committee recognized the harmful impacts flexible pricing is having on Pennsylvania consumers and commend Chairman Pyle and Representative Topper for their leadership on this important issue,” said David Wojnar, DISCUS vice president of state government relations. “Repealing this program and returning to a proportional pricing formula will restore stability and ensure consumers are getting a fair price at the checkout counter. We encourage the House to act swiftly in taking up this legislation so this critical reform can become law as soon as possible.”
“Pennsylvania’s LCB is the only retailer of distilled spirits in the state,” said Dogali. “By law, it has no competition. Allowing the PLCB to set prices based on secret internal formulas is difficult for producers, but the group that is harmed the most are the citizens of the commonwealth. We want to thank Chairman Pyle, Representative Topper and committee members for recognizing there is a problem with flexible pricing. Passing HB 1512 is the first step in fixing this problem and returning to a fair system that protects the consumer from hidden price increases on their favorite distilled spirits.”
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of DISCUS, and Dogali recently sent a letter to Pennsylvania legislators regarding PLCB flexible pricing authority. They also penned an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the issue.