Members of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board met yesterday afternoon at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel to discuss increasing the wholesale wine and spirit discount for restaurants and taverns with liquor licenses.

The hearing, chaired by state Sen. Joe Conti, R-Bucks, focused primarily on proposed Senate Bill 1228.

Senate Bill 1228 would increase the discount rate that liquor distributors are required to give licensed restaurant and tavern owners, allowing licensees to purchase alcohol at a lower cost than they currently do.

The current discount rate is 7 percent, down from the 16.67 percent discount rate licensees possessed more than 20 years ago.

The bill would increase the rate to 18 percent.

PRA President and owner of The Tavern Restaurant, 220 E. College Ave., Pat Daugherty testified at the hearing, and said this low rate has had a negative impact on his business.

"This reduction [to 7 percent] is one of the reasons for our decline in our wine sales," he said in a prepared statement.

"Restoring our discount would generate an increase in bottled wine sales that would go a long way in offsetting some of the projected revenue losses."

Daugherty said after the hearing, this reduction would allow him to put more wines on The Tavern's menu that the restaurant currently cannot afford because of the low discount rate.

Daugherty also proposed allowing licensees to sell wine bottles to go. Licensed owners can currently sell two six packs or 144 ounces of malt beverages to go, but cannot do this with wine.

Dennis Liegey, representing the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, opposed this last proposal.

"I truly think it would be a detriment to us," he said.

Leigey did, however, agree with Daugherty about increasing the discount rate, arguing that the increase would significantly help small tavern owners facing harsh economic conditions.

"Telling you about the economic crisis facing Pennsylvania today would be foolish," he said. "

Try for a moment to realize how this same crisis is trickling down into our businesses."

Liegey also said the state reduced the discount rate every time it had an economic crisis.

"When Pennsylvania's revenues were coming up short, you used our business to help pick up the tab," he said.

"Now it has come to the point when many of us absolutely need the discount to be increased, just to survive," he added.

However, increasing the discount rate to 18 percent would cost the state approximately $191 million over a five-year period, said PLCB Member Jonathan Newman, who opposed the bill.

"We do not believe that this revenue shortfall would be offset by a significant increase in additional volume," he said.

Chairing the hearing, Sen. Conti, who worked at The Tavern in 1973, listened attentively to each speaker, asking questions and making comments after each speaker had finished making his or her comments and remarks.

Conti said he understands the owners' present circumstances.

"We do hear the industry," he said. "We understand your situation."