Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that he will waive liquor license fees for restaurants and bars starting Jan. 1 through the end of 2021.
Wolf hopes to waive standard licensing fees on over 16,000 restaurants, bars, hotels and clubs, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Waiving the liquor license fees is estimated to see $20 million in relief to affected businesses across the state of Pennsylvania.
Today I’m in Pittsburgh to announce help for Pennsylvania’s bars and restaurants.
To ease a burden for these businesses, licensing fees will be waived as we continue to mitigate the spread of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/GY2TECA5tk
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) October 22, 2020
Wolf’s announcement to cut back on restaurant and bars’ fees coincides with his push to provide an additional $225 million in federal CARES funding to Pennsylvania small businesses. (RELATED: Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf Moves To Legalize Recreational Marijuana)
Pennsylvania received roughly $2.6 billion in federal CARES Act funds, with the $225 million set aside for small business relief, according to Wolf’s website.
Gov. Wolf also signaled his support for the federal Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act.
The RESTAURANTS Act is a bipartisan bill that would allocate $120 billion to small restaurants, KDKA Pittsburgh reported.
“Bars and restaurants need and deserve our help. It’s not their fault that COVID has hit their industry particularly hard,” Wolf said.
Wolf recently vetoed a bill that would have increased restaurant and bar capacity to over 50%. The bill was passed by both the state House and Senate with bipartisan support, KDKA Pittsburgh reported.