Some links here:
http://reason.com/blog/2015/07/03/vetoing-liquor-privatization-pennsylvani

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20150703_Wolf_vetoes_liquor_privatization_and_school_funding_bills.html

Those that think Utah's liquor laws are a uniquely bad phenomenon should take a closer look. Pennsylvania is a good example of disparate special interests banding together at the expense of the consumer. In this case, it's distributors and the state; the distributors get a near-monopoly while the state gets significantly more tax revenue -- while the consumer pays more.

Those trying to repeal Utah's antiquated alcohol laws should take this to heart. While it's fashionable to blame the LDS church for the dumb liquor laws, there are other elements that advocate for them -- including the vendors (who in some cases have a monopoly position in Utah ABC stores) and the state (which has significant tax interest) and the employees (who make much more at a state liquor store than they would elsewhere in many cases).

the question you have to ask when considering who runs the distribution of liquor in the state of Utah is this:

Will the legislature EVER pass any law on liquor that the LDS church opposes?

If you follow Utah politics at all and are at all honest you will answer: Of course not

Yes, there are many parties that have input into the states laws, but only one group has final say over all of it. Its not the booze companies, its not the consumers, its not the voters and its no even the legislature themselves. Its the LDS church.

Is that the case in Pennsylvania? I beet it isn't. So while it could be worse here, and other states have idiotic laws also, and plenty of places have corruption of various forms that impact local laws and ordinances Utah is unique in that one specific religious group controls the entire state.

I think you're missing the point here. There are lots of advocates, even on the LDS side, for privatizing liquor sales. The LDS church, while prevalent, holds only a plurality position in terms of active members.

As long as people continue to believe that solely the LDS church holds the keys to changing the liquor laws, they will remain unchanged. The LDS church is influential, sure, but there are lots of other special interest groups that are more than happy to let the LDS church take the brunt of the blame in order to provide a convenient scapegoat.

government controlled liquor ?

Isn't that socialism ?

I'm too lazy to do this, but it might be fun to go to opensecrets.org and check to see how much the governor has received in campaign donations from those who would most benefit from preserving the status quo.

It's no secret. Governor Wolf is a Democrat. Democrats are pro-union. About 5,000 union jobs would be lost if the liquor stores were privatized. The unions, of course, contributed heavily to his campaign.

This is from an article in "Penn Live" on the 2014 yearly report from the PA Liquor Control board:

"The annual report gives us the chance to share the details of the PLCB's impact with the general public," said Chairman Joseph Brion, in a written statement. "This agency is owned by the commonwealth, so the people of the commonwealth should know how it's operated."

According to the report, the stores contribute $42 million in annual rental income, including about $11.6 million from the 214 stores in central Pennsylvania.

About 55 percent of revenue, or $1.2 billion, goes to purchasing the alcohol. Another $526 million was returned to the Pennsylvania Treasury while the State Police received nearly $25 million for liquor law enforcement. The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs received $2.5 million for educational programs."

I get that things would be more convenient for Pennsylvanians if all stores that wanted to could sell all the booze they wanted to, but I wonder if the job and tax loss would be worth it.

I think it will pass eventually, however. People just don't want to be inconvenienced.

As a resident of the People's Republic of Pennsylvania, I can tell you that Tom Wolfe is a jackass of a governor, just as his Rep. predecessor was. They both pale in comparison to the Legislature which has been in the hands of the Republicans for at least 9 years now.

Liquor privatization has been a hot button with residents forEVER but both parties manage to never get it done. Why? Perhaps because they're beholden to special interests like the state employees union, who seem to think that providing jobs is a core function of government.

So, we continue to suffer under laws from 1933 when Prohibition was repealed because, God forbid, adults can't be trusted to buy alcohol from private entities. ******* Socialists.

Hey. It ain't Maryland

In Washington, Costco, other grocery stores, and bars thought they could make more $ without the state in between. State employees should have been g.fathered in, but they weren't. Most ppl say that prices are higher now... But we we have liquor at grocery stores, before only beer/wine.

Just curious . . . what Utah liquor laws need to be changed exactly? I understand the silly "Zion curtain" nonsense and would agree with abolishing that.

Also, dh and I used to hate that we would have to "buy a membership" in order to order cocktails and wine with dinner -- but all that silliness has changed. We find it delightfully easy to order wine with dinner -- and the high end resorts in Deer Valley have wine lists to rival just about anything we find here in the East (except perhaps for the Mario Battali restaurants with their lists of nearly unheard of wines from tiny Italian sub-regions).

As for private wine/liquor sales, living in New York City, I have access to numerous wine stores near where I live and also near where I work. And, none of them has the financial wherewithal to carry the inventory that I find at the Salt Lake wine stores when I visit. The one on the west side is a veritable treasure trove of beauties -- many costing more than I can afford, but I take pleasure in wandering the aisles, checking the locked glass cabinets and wishing! Private wine/liquor stores lack the money to tie up millions in inventory. Moreover, I realize the alcohol is taxed, but I often find bottles in Utah for the same or less than I would pay for the same bottle in NYC .

Additionally, I was recently chatting with a serious wine collector I'm friends with. His private cellar has 20,000 bottles. He knows I'm from Utah and a former Mormon. I mentioned to him that I'm often surprised and quite pleased with the inventory I find in Utah state wine stores. He laughed and nodded and confessed to me that he routinely checks the Utah wine store inventory online and has friends bring him bottles when they fly to Utah for skiing. Why? Because Utah has serious buying power since it is the only purchaser for the entire state (including Park City/Deer Valley!), so it is often allotted a few prized bottles by distributors of wines/vintages that are nearly impossible to get otherwise.

So, I'm not in any hurry to see the state relinquish its control over wine and my wine-loving friend here in the East would agree!