Corbett set to offer plan for privatizing Pa. liquor sales

Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to unveil a plan Wednesday to sell off Pennsylvania's roughly 600 wine and spirit stores.

But the state Senate president is already backing away from the push for liquor privatization.

Repeating his comments from a year ago, Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, says he still hasn't given up on legislative efforts to modernize the existing system of state stores.

"If those half a dozen bills were enacted, we'd have somewhere between $75 million and $100 million into the general fund for each of the last two years," he said. "And I think we can put a couple trains on the track and continue to work through this."

The administration is expected to propose auctioning off twice as many liquor store licenses and expanding the kinds of retailers who can sell beer and wine.

Corbett has said the Liquor Control Board poses a conflict of interest to the state, which is also in charge of enforcing liquor laws and drinking regulations.