Pa. allows alcohol-serving restaurants to use loudspeakers for entertainment

HARRISBURG — Alcohol-selling restaurants and other venues with state liquor licenses and live entertainment got a gift from Pennsylvania on Monday: loudspeakers.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law a bill to let liquor license-holding establishments in all counties except Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to use loudspeakers to amplify music or entertainment. A caveat is that off-site noise cannot surpass 75 decibels — roughly the noise level produced by a typical vacuum cleaner.

Previously, the state Liquor Code only gave permission for amplifiers to wineries.

Proponents said the law would sustain outdoor dining — which became a major draw during COVID-19 restrictions — and it would not prevent municipalities from issuing nuisance violations for noise.

Not everyone was on board. The bill passed the Senate unanimously late last week, but 14 representatives in the House voted “no.”

One of them was Republican Rep. Mark Gillen of Berks County, who compared it to a 2017 fireworks sales-expansion law that generated a slew of complaints.

“I could see it creating quality of life problems in communities,” Gillen said of the new law.

He noted it calls for amplifier use to end at 9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights, and at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

“So they are going to go to midnight? My nine-year-old daughter, last I checked, was in bed three hours at that point,” Gillen said.

Democratic Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County said it would give restaurants and other venues with alcohol sales and live entertainment a boost.

“They are still recovering from the pandemic and they are not back where they should be,” she said.

The law went into effect immediately with Wolf’s signature on Monday.

Lauren Brinjac, senior director of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, said it was timely because the outdoor dining season is in full swing.

The law says a liquor license holder outside of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh can use loudspeakers as long as “the sound of music or other entertainment, or the advertisement thereof, does not exceed 75 decibels beyond the licensee’s property line.”

Previously, Brinjac said, a license holder would be in violation of the liquor code “if you could hear any music out beyond their property line.”

Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, called it a fair update to outdated liquor laws.

“It certainly encourages the use of outdoor dining with a low level of sound such as acoustic music. And, we’re sure it will benefit patrons, musicians, and licensed establishments,” Moran said.

The bill that went to Wolf’s desk was originated by Republican Rep.. Jesse Topper of Bedford County, but the language on loudspeakers originally came from Republican Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill of York County.

Information on a Yale University environmental health and safety web page listed a vacuum cleaner as generating about 75 decibels.

Enforcement of the new law will be the responsibility of state police Liquor Control Enforcement.

David Sanko, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, said the new law clearly did not replace local noise ordinances. One practical effect, he said, might be removing some of the burden of noise-violation enforcement from local police and transferring it to state police.

Another portion of the law says beer produced by an out-of-state manufacturer under a contract with an in-state entity must be distributed through Pennsylvania’s three-tier system — which involves producers, distributors and retailers.

Proponents of the law previously said loopholes were letting out-of-state brewing companies that set up a small brewery in Pennsylvania take advantage of benefits intended for Pennsylvania-based brewers.

Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com