The citations were issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board during the COVID-19 era.
The Pennsylvania Senate has passed legislation that would expunge COVID-related citations issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board against small businesses with liquor licenses.
Senate Bill 241, led by Republican state Senator Jarrett Coleman, aims to rectify actions taken by the Liquor Control Board during the pandemic.
We voted to expunge punitive COVID-era citations issued by the Liquor Control Board against small businesses with liquor licenses, bringing it in line with other state agencies and helping these employers succeed. ℹ️ https://t.co/sM6nVeD7DR pic.twitter.com/IzqqXTcCa9
— PA Senate Republicans (@PASenateGOP) September 23, 2025
Citations were issued by the authority for businesses that reportedly failed to comply with COVID-related executive orders.
In 2024, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a state budget hearing where then-chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Tim Holden and Board Member Randy Vulakovich answered questions from lawmakers. They admitted that the Liquor Control Board was using the license renewal process to ensure that license holders faced “consequences” for failing to comply with pandemic guidelines.
The board’s enforcement included issuing conditional licenses, which forced businesses to pay higher insurance premiums. These enforcement procedures put people out of business during the pandemic.
“Pennsylvania businesses suffered enough during COVID and continuing to punish them today or in the future isn’t in anyone’s best interest. Every other commonwealth agency has recognized the impossible situation restaurants were in and they’ve dropped enforcement actions for COVID rule violations. It’s beyond time that the PLCB follows suit and lets these small businesses focus on making a living,” said Senator Coleman on his legislation.
Having passed the Senate, the bill now heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration before it can reach Governor Shapiro’s desk and be signed into law.
