House Liquor Control Committee
Public Hearing on HB 1451 (Mustello)
February 11, 2026
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association has advocated for the food and beverage industry across theCommonwealth since 1952. Today the association represents almost 500 member companies from across the globe that operate thousands of retail food stores, production facilities and distribution centers, and collectively employ more than 350,000 Pennsylvanians.
Thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective on this important issue.
Our retail members serve as the face of Pennsylvania’s modernized adult beverage market. With the successful implementation of Wine Expanded Permits and the recent addition of Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Cocktail Permits, food retailers continue to prove they are reliable partners with the Commonwealth, selling alcohol responsibly and conveniently.
HB 1451 would amend the Liquor Code to create a new type of liquor transportation license that would enable third parties to deliver beer, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails to consumers on behalf of licensed Pennsylvania retailers. To understand our sector’s support for this legislation, it’s important to recognize two critical factors. The first is that food retail operates on margins between one and three percent. In other words, for every dollar of revenue earned by your local grocer, they generally get to keep between one and three cents as profit after expenses and taxes. That means every opportunity to bolster those revenues, such as this one, must be thoughtfully, and thoroughly, considered. Second – retailers must cater to evolving customer preferences or risk losing them.
Indeed, as consumer preference – and expectation – shifts further toward home delivery, Pennsylvania retailers are pivoting to meet this demand. So too must Pennsylvania’s regulatory framework evolve.
This bill is not merely a convenience measure. Rather, it is a necessary infrastructure update for Pennsylvania’s retail economy that embraces modern digital realities while upholding the strictest standards of public safety. By enabling local businesses to reach consumers through delivery apps, we ensure that dollars stay in Pennsylvania communities, and empower local merchants to offer a “full basket” – the dinner and drink experience that consumers nationwide are coming to view as a standard expectation. This bill aligns Pennsylvania with 30 other states that have successfully implemented similar models, incorporates best practices from these jurisdictions, and represents a win for consumers and local businesses.
Crucially, the bill offers liability protection to the licensee selling the alcohol. If a delivery driver illegally delivers alcohol, for example to a minor or intoxicated person, without the seller’s knowledge, the seller is shielded from administrative citation, provided they processed the order correctly. To that point, there are also strict training standards in place. Drivers must undergo training that covers age verification and how to identify visibly intoxicated persons.
HB 1451 amends the Liquor Code to exempt the hand-off to a Class D Transporter-for-Hire from the requirement of using a transaction scan device or a specific register at the store premises. This change will reduce delivery times, ease congestion at checkout lines, and free up staff to serve in-store customers. This legislation does not remove the requirement to verify age. It simply shifts the scan to where it matters most: the final point of delivery.
Under this bill, the responsibility for verifying the consumer’s age and sobriety falls strictly on the Class D licensee at the customer’s doorstep. By codifying the penalties for Transporters-for-Hire who fail to verify age, HB 1451 ensures that the delivery ecosystem remains secure and that third-party delivery services are held to the same high standards as our brick-and-mortar stores.
As mentioned, Pennsylvania’s food retailers operate on thin margins and rely on volume and efficiency. As the demand for grocery delivery grows, the ability to seamlessly include a bottle of wine or a four-pack of canned cocktails with a grocery order is a significant value-add for businesses and their customers.
HB 1451 is a pro-business, pro-consumer measure that updates the Liquor Code to reflect the reality of modern commerce. It allows retailers to operate more efficiently and delivery drivers to do their jobs more quickly, all while maintaining the robust age-verification standards Pennsylvanians expect.