LCB wine racks

The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to take up liquor privatization this week. It remains to be seen if the plan that's been circulated among Senate leadership is popular enough to overcome the deadlock that have stalled others.

You can almost hear it, the liquor privatization partisans chanting "Chug! Chug! Chug!" in hopes Pennsylvania's legislature will down their preferred plan in the next two weeks.

And members of the state Senate seem poised to bring the glass to their lips.

But what will the Senate's plan actually look like once it's set in legislation? Could something else off this cocktail menu prove more appealing?

Or -- because this is Pennsylvania -- will the next six session days pass with no action, and will everyone leave Harrisburg unhappy and have to buy beer at a distributor and whiskey at a state store (only during restricted Sunday hours)?

So what's in play? Let's take a look.

The bill that passed, and stalled

HB 790: Passed by the House with great fanfare last March, this would phase the Commonwealth out of the retail and wholesale business.

Gov. Tom Corbett hailed it as "a bill to bring Pennsylvania into the 21st century." For all that, this version was never seriously considered by the Senate.

Last week, Steve Miskin, the spokesman for House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, said "the House has spoken" in reference to 790. But few players in Harrisburg think this could be revived in the next two weeks without some surgery. And some privatization hawks are warning that watering down the bill will lead them to walk away.

The bill that almost passed

HB 790, as amended: The Senate didn't completely ignore this bill once it got its hands on it.

It lived long enough to have amendments added in a session that lasted until 1:20 a.m. in June. This version would have leased the valuable wholesale liquor monopoly. But that amendment never passed the full Senate. Again, few see it moving soon.

The bill that's been circulated

A bigger LCB?: Last month, State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-Bucks County, circulated a sponsorship memo for a bill that would expand the powers of the Liquor Control Board. If the LCB is allowed to keep more stores open and for longer hours on Sundays and make other changes such as offering discount pricing, DiGirolamo said it could bring an extra $185 million in profits into the state's coffers in the first year.

This is a non-starter for those who want privatization like Turzai. Don't expect this to move anytime soon.

The proposals waiting to be introduced

The Senate plan: This is what has everyone talking.

GOP Senate leaders are expected to introduce a bill (or offer more amendments) this week that would allow beer and wine to be sold in grocery and convenience stores. The bill would also allow beer distributors to sell six-packs, among other changes. It would keep the LCB intact, and state stores would be the only place Pennsylvanians could be spirits.

Last week, House Majority Whip Stan Saylor said some version of this plan would likely be on Corbett's desk in May.

Let's not get carried away yet.

Lots of people are waiting to see the details, and Miskin said the details will determine if it's something that most of the House GOP caucus can support.

Now a word on jargon. Lots of folks have taken to calling this the "wine-only" plan, since wine would be the only state store product moving into grocery stores. Since the proposal likely also involves beer, we're sticking to the Senate plan for now.

The outsiders plan: Earlier this month, a coalition of businesses including the Pennsylvania Retail Federation, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Pennsylvania Business Council, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States unveiled their wish list for privatization.

This would totally overhaul how booze is sold in Pennsylvania.

Among other things, it would let beer distributors sell wine or liquor, or sell their license. It would immediately close the state stores and auction off the wholesale system.

It remains to be seen if a lawmaker wants to pick up the proposal and run with it.