PRLA Restaurant & Lodging Matters Fall 2019

20  • PENNSYLVANIA RESTAURANT & LODGING matters • Fall 2019 STATE LOCAL FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE CORNER State Items FALL SESSION BEGINS The House & Senate have returned to Harrisburg for the fall legislative session. A busy agenda is ahead with some of the following key issues slated for consideration: • Criminal justice reform • Election reform • Gun control/reform legislation • Child sex abuse statute of limitations MINIMUM WAGE—THIS FALL AND ON The legislature returned to session on September 17 for its fall session schedule. The Governor continues to make an increase of the minimum wage to $15/ hour and elimination of the tipped wage entirely a top priority. The Governor intends to make a push this fall but it is more likely to become a Spring 2020 issue due to it being an election year. Republicans currently hold the Senate majority (28–22) and House majority (110–93). However, half of the Senate seats and all 203 House seats are up for reelection in 2020, meaning minimum wage will be a topic of discussion leading up to Election Day. LABOR PREEMPTION Due to the Supreme Court ruling that Pittsburgh’s paid leave mandate is legal and Philadelphia recently passing a scheduling mandate, a renewed push to pass HB 331 (Grove—R, York), which would preempt municipalities from passing labor mandates on business, is underway. We hope to have a House vote on the bill this fall. HB 787—ONLINE HOME SHARING REGISTRY While PRLA was instrumental in getting Act 109 of 2018 signed into law (closing the online travel company loophole), online home sharing companies are still not sharing specific information of what properties they are remitting tax on behalf of. HB 787 (Heffley—R, Carbon) would require these companies to share the listing information with the state Department of Revenue and then require the Department to share that information with the counties to ensure local tax and operational compliance. The legislation was overwhelmingly voted out of the House Tourism & Recreational Development Committee and should be considered by the full House this fall. ACT 109 REVENUE Since March of 2019, the state has seen $2 million in additional revenue go to the tourism office from closing the online travel company loophole and requiring online home sharing portals to remit tax. So far, 14 companies have registered with the state to remit occupancy tax. PENNSYLVANIA PROPOSED SALARY THRESHOLD REGULATION Last year, the Governor proposed increasing the salary threshold for exempt employees to $49,000/year. There was a swift response from the business and non- profit communities, and it is expected the Governor’s Office will release an updated proposal within the coming months. It remains to be seen if the Governor will listen to feedback or move forward with his original proposal. LIQUOR LEGISLATION THIS FALL The House Liquor Control Committee and Senate Law & Justice Committee spent the summer holding several hearing and meetings with the expectation that omnibus legislation would be put together and start moving through the legislative process this fall/next spring. Stay tuned for updates as that legislation is created. PRLA’S LIQUOR PRIORITIES PRLA continues to push for HB 1617 (Staats—R, Bucks) which would allow for Hotel licenses in existence before 1949 to be converted to a Restaurant license and reforms to the statewide auction. We are cautiously optimistic that both provisions will be included in an omnibus bill.