Battle lines are already being drawn on another round of beer and liquor reform in Harrisburg, while state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, continues an open-records fight with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

House hearings and public statements are throwing the latest liquor reform debate into relief, with some representatives pushing for expanded beer and wine sales despite protests from wholesalers and organized labor.

The push to expand the state’s private beer and wine offerings have continued since grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores were opened to sell beer and wine under certain restrictions. Now, lawmakers — including state Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Uniontown, are seeking to cut those restrictions, allowing even more beer and wine to be sold at gas stations and big-box stores.

“(Liquor reform) has ushered in an era of convenience for our citizens and should be continued,” Dowling said in a memo announcing his bill, House Bill 1644, earlier this year. “Many of the requirements placed on the holder of a restaurant license, however, are still limiting our constituents the ability to purchase wine and beer in the manner they desire.”

Dowling’s bill got a hearing last week in the House Liquor Control Committee, where some colleagues expressed skepticism. Under the plan, stores would no longer have to restrict beer and wine sales to separate registers, and would not have to maintain restaurant-style seating as they do now.

The bill would also allow customers to buy more beer and wine in one trip — ending existing rules that limit gas station or grocery trips to 192 ounces of beer, roughly equivalent to a 12-pack.

The plan drew criticism last week from representatives of the state’s beer distributors, who sell beer wholesale and have long criticized expanded sales at grocery stores.

“This bill does have a direct impact on the (distributor) licensees,” Malt Beverage Distributors Association of Pennsylvania representative Arun Patel said at the hearing, according to the conservative news and advocacy outlet The Center Square. “We do it right. We’ve been doing it for so long. To keep changing the rules for us, it’s hard.”

The plan also faces opposition from Wendell Young, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, which represents state liquor store employees and many grocery store workers.

“This is a logistical nightmare for enforcement,” Young said of the bill. The bill would open the door to massive corporations like Walmart to sell alcohol in bulk, posing safety risks and threatening to upend the existing system, he said.

Reaction to Dowling’s legislation follows a trend set in recent beer battles. The legislation appears likely to benefit big gas station chains and grocery stores, while beer distributors feel the pressure and liquor stores (and their workers) lose their share of the wine market.

Past legislation spurred dueling corporate campaigns — like the Sheetz-backed “Free My Beer” campaign that appears to have gone quiet since the last round of liquor reform.

The new beer fight comes as Burns, a member of the House Liquor Control Committee, wages his own war against liquor license expansion. Burns has long protested the Liquor Control Board’s practice of auctioning new licenses — a practice that has raised tens of millions of dollars, but which takes place under a shroud of secrecy.

The board has not revealed how many licenses it has available to auction in each county. That uncertainty threatens the future of small-scale restaurant and bar owners, whose expensive (and hard to obtain) licenses represent a major investment. Without a clear picture of the number of licenses set for auction, those business owners’ investments could lose value.

Burns struck at the Liquor Control Board last week, after officials there appealed a state open records ruling Burns had requested. Liquor officials hope to keep the license data, which they consider “confidential proprietary information,” a secret.

“The (Office of Open Records) sided with me, shooting down every one of the LCB’s arguments on why the public shouldn’t know this information,” Burns said after getting notice of the appeal. “It’s amazing that they’re now spending taxpayer money to fight this in court.”

The open records fight could spill over to legislation, including House Bill 1644, Burns said.

“How could any elected official make an informed vote on this bill without knowing the number of restaurant licenses the LCB has to auction?” Burns said in a written statement. “Without LCB cooperation, we are forced to guess, which could inadvertently flood the market with additional licenses, hurting small business owners. The public didn’t elect us to guess when making decisions that affect them.”

Joyce addresses

Geist’s death

U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-13th District, joined political figures across the state honoring former state Rep. Rick Geist of Altoona this week.

“It is with great sadness that I learned of the sudden death of longtime legislator, public servant and friend Rick Geist,” Joyce said in a written statement Friday. “His insights and leadership will be missed. As a veteran and patriot, he showed loyalty and commitment to our community. My wife and I extend sympathies to his wife, Jeannie, on this loss.”

Geist, who served in the state House as Altoona’s Republican representatives for decades before a 2012 primary defeat, died last week during a trip to Russia. He was 74.

Geist’s long political service earned condolences from Harrisburg and Washington, where current and former politicians recalled his reputation for moderation and bipartisanship.