Liquor and Legislation in PA Statehouse: State Roundup

By PA Independent Staff

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvanians may want to toast the House of Representatives. One half of the state’s General Assembly approved a plan to privatize the sale of wine and spirits with a historic vote this week.

And while the liquor debate consumed much of the attention in Harrisburg, there was plenty going on behind the scenes as well.

House vote sends liquor privatization bill to showdown in Senate

After more than seven hours of debate Thursday, the state House voted 105-90 in favor of a bill to privatize the wholesale and retail sale of wine and spirits in Pennsylvania.

It is the first time a bill to privatize the sale of liquor in Pennsylvania has passed either chamber in the General Assembly since the end of Prohibition in 1933.

“We are moving the sale of wine and spirits to a place that is more convenient for the consumers of Pennsylvania while maintaining responsibility around the state,” said House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny.

The lengthy floor debate was marked by stark partisan differences, with Republicans touting the promise of better prices and convenience for consumers and pointing out the ideological conundrum of having the state sell alcohol with one hand while enforcing laws with the other. Meanwhile, Democrats railed against the plan by saying it would make alcohol more readily available in poor communities, would give big businesses advantages over small ones and would result in thousands of state workers losing their jobs.

The bill moves to the state Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester, told reporters that senators have started discussions about the liquor bill over the last two days as House support finally coalesced around a specific proposal.

But the senators have some of their own ideas to consider, he said.

“I don’t think anyone expects the Senate to simply take up the House bill and move it to the governor’s desk as is,” Pileggi said, though he added that he still needs to parse the specifics of the bill before offering any suggested changes of his own.

Corbett announces plan to save Amtrak service

Pennsylvania state government may chip in to help keep Amtrak service operational on the western side of the state.

Gov. Tom Corbett announced Thursday afternoon the administration reached a $3.8 million agreement with Amtrak to keep the service.

Federal subsidies to that line will be reduced next year, leaving a $6 million gap that the state thought it would have to fill – or else the train would no longer run from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.

Corbett said the new arrangement with Amtrak will cost the state $3.8 million a year to keep service, with one train a day in each direction.

Service west of Harrisburg, including stations in Lewistown, Huntingdon, Altoona, Johnstown and Greensburg, will also be maintained.

The plan is contingent upon lawmakers addressing a statewide transportation plan. The appropriation would come from the transportation plan Corbett has proposed alongside next year’s state budget, which lawmakers have yet to take up.

Corbett’s 2014 outlook downgraded

The gubernatorial election of 2014 may feel light years away for voters, but it’s not stopping politicos from taking a look at the early slate of candidates.

Cook Political Report, a national campaign forecaster, downgraded the viability of Corbett retaining his seat.

The 2014 Pennsylvania governor’s race is now considered a “toss-up” instead of “lean Republican.”

Democrats from all corners of the state are seizing on Corbett’s perceived vulnerability. This week saw the emergence of Max Myers, a central Pennsylvania Democrat with a background in ministry who is beginning to tour the state in support of his campaign.

Myers and former Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger are the only declared candidates, but the list of potential candidates is quite long.

Kathleen McGinty, another former DEP secretary, will form an exploratory committee, as reported by PoliticsPA.

McGinty joins U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Montgomery, State Treasurer Rob McCord, former congressman Joe Sestak and former Secretary of Revenue Tom Wolfe as potential challengers to Corbett.

Corbett may also have a primary challenger, as Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor has said he is considering a run.

Regardless of who is in the seat, the job pays well. A recent survey from a California state commission found Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial salary is the highest in the nation.

Former PA governors say no to elections for appellate judges

Three former governors elected by Pennsylvania voters a total of six times over the past 34 years argued Monday that those same voters should not be trusted to choose the state’s highest-ranking judges.

Former Republican governors Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge were joined by former Democratic governor Ed Rendell on a conference call organized by judicial reform group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts to urge the state to pursue a so-called “merit selection” process for judges on the state’s appellate courts. Under current law, all judges in Pennsylvania are elected and must face the voters every 10 years to be retained on the bench.

The governors’ concerns included the low-profile nature of judicial elections, as well as the influence lawyers and attorneys may have on campaigns.

“Right now, voters have no idea who they are voting for anyway,” Rendell said. “It is a system that makes no sense; the voters don’t really have the necessary information to decide who they are electing.”

With the recent conviction of Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin on charges of corruption during her 2009 campaign for a seat on the bench, judicial reformers may finally have a foothold for making changes.

DEP secretary leaving office

The administration announced Friday morning DEP secretary Mike Krancer will step down April 15.

Krancer has played a high-profile role in the state since his January 2011 appointment, due mostly to the state’s booming Marcellus Shale gas industry. Krancer helped oversee the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, and the creation of environmental protection laws connected to natural gas extraction.

Krancer, who is from Montgomery County, will head to the private sector to work for Blank Rome LLP, a Philadelphia-based law firm where he was previously employed.

E. Christopher Abruzzo, who is Corbett’s deputy chief of staff, will serve as acting secretary.

Contact Melissa Daniels at melissa@paindependent.com and Eric Boehm at eric@paindependnet.com, or follow us on Twitter at@PAIndependent.