LANCASTER, PA – Senator Scott Martin (R-13) today called on state Senate leadership to immediately call the Senate into session and concur on House Bill 1154 before June 30th when Senate rules that allow legislative voting by Zoom expire.
“Over the last year, I have worked with small business owners across Pennsylvania to help them survive the pandemic by increasing services they can offer consumers and fighting for them to safely reopen. We are finally heading in the right direction and must continue to do all we can to continue the progress,” Martin said in a letter to Senate leadership. “One of those things is concurring on this bill before the Zoom-voting deadline expires.”
HB1154 was passed by the House and allows for the continuation of cocktail-to-go sales started during the pandemic under Republican efforts to assist employers reeling from Governor Wolf’s closures. The bill was not taken up by the Senate before it recessed after passage of the budget.
“Many restaurants, bars and taverns invested significant funds to provide outdoor dining services that included the ability to serve alcohol outside their establishments as well as cocktails-to-go to their patrons,” Martin said. “We cannot stand by when we have the opportunity to quickly and easily do something that will help our small employers.”