One impact of the current pandemic has been what is and what is not allowed for local businesses. As we have been reporting, bills have been presented in the Pennsylvania government to help ease restrictions. However, as of this writing, nothing circumstantial has been passed to allow breweries/restaurants/taverns to increase dining capacity.

In the most recent turn of events, Governor Wolf announced that Pennsylvania would be waiving licensing fees for breweries, restaurants, and bars. Suggesting that it could save the industry over 20 million dollars.

While the measure sounds like it will have a significant impact within the industry, the states liquor control board, the PLCB, is telling a different story.

According to a recent announcement by the PLCB spokesmen Shawn Kelly, the waiving of the license fees may actually not be possible. A recent tweet by Jon Harris of the Morning Call shared the following statement by Kelly

“Dozens of different license and permit fees are authorized and required by different state laws, and the PLCB is evaluating its authority to waive various categories of fees. It [the PLCB] anticipates addressing the potential waiver of license fees at next Wednesday’s Board meeting, after completing its legal and fiscal due diligence in evaluating the Governor’s proposal”

As mentioned in the statement above, no official announcment has been made by the PLCB on the status of the fees. We will continue to update once more details are provided.