An Our Philadelphia Blog Post
$700k in campaign donations by parties interested in PA beer distribution reform
In mid-February, state senator John Rafferty (R-44th, Chester, Montgomery, Berks) proposed a bill to reform Pennsylvania's beer distribution laws. The bill's central purpose is to allow consumers to buy six packs at grocery and convenience stores rather than be limited to purchasing cases from dedicated beer distributors. Rafferty's press release regarding the bills can be found here and a PDF overview of his bill here.
Many convenience and grocery store owners are standing behind Rafferty in his call for reform to what he calls an "antiquated" system, while representatives of beer distributors fear the bill would hurt the businesses that currently sell most of the beer in the state. David Shipula, president of the Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania, is worried that giants such as Wal Mart and Target, if able to sell beer, will force current distributors out of business.
A Feb. 17 2010 Pittsburgh Tribune Review article ("Bill to reform how beer sold in Pa. pushed") quoted the CEO of Sheetz, Inc., a company that owns a large chain of gas stations and convenience stores of the same name in Pennsylvania and other states, in his support for Rafferty's bill. "If you buy a case of Bud Light in Virginia and bring it to Pennsylvania, it'll also cost you $2.50 less in Virginia than here, and that's "because someone has an artificial monopoly here in Pennsylvania," said Stan Sheetz. He acknowledged Sheetz Inc.'s position to profit from the bill, stating, "I'm in business and trying to make money." Sheetz Inc. maintains a website and petition platform regarding the Pennsylvania bill called "Free My Beer".
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and the Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council, which together on their joint website call themselves "a statewide trade association representing supermarkets and convenience stores," also support Rafferty's bill and were present at the introduction. They have launched their own website to educate the public as to the benefits of the bill.
A preliminary look at the campaign contributions by these supporting parties reveals over $700,000 in donations to campaign committees made between 2001-2008 (state campaign contribution data for 2009 is scheduled to be made available by the Department of State in late March/early April).
The largest contributor is the FoodPAC of Pennsylvania, the joint political action committee of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and the Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council. While often listed under various names, the FoodPAC may be identified by the consistent address 1029 Mumma Road, PO Box 870, Camp Hill, PA or 1029 Mumma Road, Wormleysburg, PA.
Also listed are the contributions of some of the members of the FoodPAC committee and SheetzPAC, the political action committee of Sheetz, Inc.
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