Dowling legislation to aid bar, restaurant owners signed into law

A bill by State Rep. Matthew Dowling (R-Fayette/Somerset) that will help bar and restaurant owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has been signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

House Bill 425 allowed any business with a liquor license whose business closes to sell their remaining liquor and wine to any other liquor licensee who is qualified to sell those products. Previously, the licensee was only allowed to sell leftover product to the entity that purchased his or her liquor license.

“Many businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic and associated restrictions, and few more so than the bar and restaurant industry,” Dowling said. “This law will help those who made the difficult decision to close permanently, as well as those who are still struggling to survive.”

The goal of the legislation, Dowling said, was to help business owners recover some of their losses.

The bill was expanded as it traveled through the legislative process, allowing bars and restaurants the ability to serve alcoholic beverages in outdoor seating areas. Specifically, it allows the Liquor control Board to temporarily extend the licensed premises of a liquor license holder to include certain outdoor serving areas and to remove certain restrictions on off-premises catered functions.

The changes would go into effect immediately, but would expire on Dec. 31, 2024.

The law also allows any restaurant, eating place, retail dispenser, hotel, importing distributor and distributor license and any club or catering club license that was in safekeeping during the emergency disaster declaration, an additional year of safekeeping.