PR&LA Winter 2018

20  • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Winter 2018 LEGISLATIVE CORNER STATE FEDERAL LOCAL State Items BUDGET UPDATE After dragging on for almost four extra months, the remaining pieces to balance the $2 billion deficit were sent to the Governor, and included a gaming bill which is expected to bring in $150 million in its first year. The rest of the budget is balanced based on expanding the sales tax to online marketplace sales, taking about $600 million in unused funds from reserved accounts and borrowing $1.25 billion against the tobacco settlement fund. Since the budget, for right now, is balanced, the Governor has halted his efforts to borrow $1 billion against the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) and sell the Farm Show Complex. SPEAKING OF THE GAMING BILL Video gaming terminals were included in the legislation, but only for truck stops. The legislation contains some of the following additional provisions: • MINI-CASINOS The Category 1 and 2 casinos can offer sealed bids for these new Category 4 licenses. Each casino is limited to one mini-casino. A casino must put up a minimum bid of $7.5 million. These casinos can have between 300 to 750 slot machines and 30 table games initially. A Category 4 casino can’t be within 25 miles from a separately owned casino, but can be within 25 miles of the winning bidder’s casino. • TRUCK STOP VGTs A truck stop can have up to five VGTs. An eligible truck stop must have sold 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel in the previous year, have a convenience store, have at least 20 parking spaces and sit on at least three acres. • GAMING The bill levies a two-tier tax rate for internet gambling—52 percent for less skilled slots type games and 14 percent for more skilled games such as poker where players interact. HOTEL TAX THREAT Thanks to the incredible efforts of our members, PRLA was successfully able to defeat a proposal that would have assessed a 5 percent statewide hotel tax to balance the budget. While this was an incredible win in a battle we didn’t believe we should have ever had to fight, we are moving forward with the momentum from this to pursue other tourism priorities as we go into 2018. WHAT ARE TOURISM’S PRIORITIES? Stay tuned to your email, as we will be setting up delegation meetings with PRLA members and legislators in the district. We believe it is important for legislators to see and understand that tourism is in every county in Pennsylvania and these roundtable discussions will emphasize the impact tourism has on our restaurant, lodging, attraction, and DMO members. While we’ll cover all PRLA’s legislative priorities at these meetings, we will be a focusing on statewide tourism funding, requiring online home sharing websites to register and remit taxes, and requiring online travel companies to remit taxes on the full cost of the hotel rooms they sell. ALCOHOL LEGISLATION While the House has sent numerous bills over to the Senate, not a single House bill has been considered in the full Senate. PRLA will be refocusing our efforts over the coming month to educate legislators about the issues with the new special liquor order (SLO) process, the need for licensees to be able to discount to-go products, and to ensure our interests are protected as the House and Senate potentially consider bills in the new year. WHY IS 2018 AN IMPORTANT YEAR? 2018 is a key election year in Pennsylvania politics. Not only are all 203 members of the Pennsylvania House and 25 members of the PA Senate up for reelection, but the Governor’s race will be key in determining the future of some of our legislative priorities. Gov. Tom Wolf will run unopposed in the primary election and, so far, four candidates have announced that they are running in the Republican primary—Senator Scott Wagner (York), Allegheny County businessman Paul Mango, Allegheny County lawyer Laura Ellsworth and Speaker of the House Mike Turzai (Allegheny). WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP OUR EFFORTS IN 2018? It is crucial that we support those legislators who supported us as they run for reelection,