RULES AND REGULATIONS
Title 40—LIQUOR
LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD
[ 40 PA. CODE CH. 5 ]
Responsible Alcohol Management Program
[45 Pa.B. 6593]
[Saturday, November 14, 2015]The Liquor Control Board (Board), under the authority of section 207(i) of the Liquor Code (47 P. S. § 2-207(i)), amends Chapter 5 (relating to duties and rights of licensees).
Summary
The Commonwealth expects holders of retail liquor and beer licenses to meet demanding standards of operation. Failure to do so may result in fines and other penalties that can culminate in the loss of the license. Training licensees and their employees to serve alcohol responsibly is seen to be one of the best ways to prevent these problems.
Section 471.1 of the Liquor Code (47 P. S. § 4-471.1) authorizes the Board to establish a training program for licensees. This training program is known as the Responsible Alcohol Management Program (RAMP) and is administered by the Board's Bureau of Alcohol Education (BAE). A portion of that training and the seller/server training is currently administered exclusively through a curriculum created by the BAE. This final-form rulemaking allows third parties to create their own curriculums and to submit them to the BAE for approval.
Since 2001, the Board has offered RAMP training and certification to licensees authorized to sell alcohol to the public. The general public and, perhaps more immediately, the neighbors of licensed establishments have benefitted from the practical and legal training that the BAE provides through these regulations to licensees and their employees.
RAMP training consists of five parts: 1) new employee orientation; 2) training for alcohol service personnel (also known as server/seller training); 3) manager/owner training; 4) displaying responsible alcohol service signage; and 5) certification. The Board is required under section 471.1(b) of the Liquor Code to conduct the manager/owner training, but may elect under section 471.1(a) of the Liquor Code to use certified instructors to teach the server/seller component of RAMP. The Board is authorized under section 471.1(b) of the Liquor Code to certify and decertify server/seller instructors. Section 471.1(a) of the Liquor Code provides that ''[t]raining for alcohol service personnel shall be as set forth by the board, but at minimum it shall consist of training to prevent service of alcohol to minors and to visibly intoxicated persons.''
There are approximately 14,000 active licenses in this Commonwealth that authorize the sale and service of alcohol for on-premises consumption, known collectively as retail licensees. There are approximately 1,200 active licenses for distributors and importing distributors of malt or brewed beverages such as beer, constituting wholesale licensees. Each of these licensees may benefit from RAMP training.
Although completion of RAMP training is usually voluntary, the act of June 28, 2011 (P. L. 55, No. 11) and the act of December 22, 2011 (P. L. 530, No. 113) made RAMP training and certification mandatory for certain employees of licensees. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of persons who have become RAMP certified.
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Number of individuals RAMP certified 23,999 24,022 26,563 30,157 31,946 43,220 Percentage increase from prior year 0.10% 9.57% 11.92% 5.60% 35.29%
There are currently 32 instructors certified by the BAE who provide RAMP server/seller training. There are also seven approved RAMP server/seller online training courses which use BAE materials.
This final-form rulemaking allows third parties to create their own curriculums and to submit them to the BAE for approval. The expected benefits include more opportunities for server/seller training which is needed to meet the growing demand for training.
While the BAE will continue to provide a standard curriculum for the training of alcohol service personnel, the BAE will also review curriculum developed by another entity to certify curriculum if it is equivalent to or exceeds the standard curriculum. If it is not, notice of deficiencies will be provided in writing to the third party within 90 days of receipt by the BAE. If the curriculum is equivalent to or exceeds the BAE-created RAMP curriculum, the other entity will be able to offer that training in this Commonwealth and the training will be considered the same as RAMP training.
In addition to providing more training opportunities for those that need to obtain RAMP server/seller training, this final-form rulemaking will affect an entity that wishes to offer RAMP-equivalent server/seller training. As long as the proposed curriculum is equivalent to or exceeds RAMP's standard curriculum, RAMP will allow that entity to use that curriculum while providing server/seller training.
Increasing the number of programs that may be offered as the equivalent of RAMP server/seller training will place an extra burden on the BAE. It will be required to evaluate the submitted programs and compare them to RAMP. Once the program is approved, the BAE will be responsible for evaluating the instructors who provide the training; this could mean a significant increase in the number of instructors the BAE must evaluate and certify. In addition, having a variety of programs could result in inconsistencies in the training experience.
These additional responsibilities can be addressed with an increase in staffing that can provide tighter oversight. An alcohol education specialist is a civil service position at pay grade 6, for which the annual salary range is from $39,257 to $59,658. However, it is unlikely additional personnel will be needed. In addition, the benefit to thelicensed community through increased training opportunities, resulting in more properly trained alcohol server/sellers, outweighs the cost of additional personnel.
Affected Parties
This final-form rulemaking will affect an entity that wishes to offer RAMP-equivalent server/seller training. As long as the proposed curriculum is equivalent to or exceeds RAMP's standard curriculum, RAMP will allow that entity to use that curriculum while providing server/seller training. This may indirectly affect anyone who wishes to or needs to take server/seller training, as there will likely be more options for this training. It also may negatively impact the certified trainers who are currently offering RAMP training, as there will be more competition to provide training to the licensed community.
Paperwork Requirements
This final-form rulemaking may increase paperwork for the BAE, since the BAE will need to evaluate proposed curriculums to determine if they are equivalent to the standard curriculum. The final-form rulemaking will not increase paperwork for anyone else in the regulated community except for those entities that wish to provide server/seller training but are advised that their curriculum is deficient and changes must be made.
Fiscal Impact
The Board has offered RAMP training and certification since 2001. Because RAMP is mandated by section 471.1 of the Liquor Code, its costs cannot be avoided. The current annual cost of RAMP to the Board is approximately $500,000. In the unlikely event that further staffing is needed by the BAE, increased staffing costs will be funded fully from liquor sales. Like all of the Board's operating costs, RAMP is fully funded from the proceeds of selling liquor, which are deposited into the State Stores Fund. The Board's operations and programs are not funded from a General Fund appropriation.
Under section 471 of the Liquor Code (47 P. S. § 4-471), licensees that have become RAMP-certified may be assessed reduced fines should they be found to have provided alcohol to a minor or visibly intoxicated person. Some licensees, because of the citations they have received and because their licensure is in jeopardy, are required to obtain and maintain RAMP certification. Training offered by other programs may happen to be more convenient for some licensees because more classes will be available. If there are more programs to choose from, the convenience for the licensee will increase, thus reducing the potential fiscal impact for the licensee.
An entity that wishes to submit its curriculum for certification by the BAE will be required to submit a fee of $250. This fee is intended to offset the time investment necessary to review and certify curriculum developed by a third party. It is unknown how much it would cost a third party to create its own curriculum but doing so is voluntary.
In addition, instructors of server/seller training must be certified on an annual basis. Certification is $250 per instructor under § 5.231(4) (relating to instructor certification).
This final-form rulemaking is not expected to result in costs or savings to local governments.
Effective Date
This final-form rulemaking will become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Public Comments
Comments should be addressed to Rodrigo Diaz, Executive Deputy Chief Counsel, or Norina Blynn, Assistant Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Liquor Control Board, Room 401, Northwest Office Building, Harrisburg, PA 17124-0001.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on March 11, 2015, the Board submitted a copy of the notice of proposed rulemaking, published at 45 Pa.B. 1850 (April 11, 2015), to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the House Liquor Control Committee and the Senate Committee on Law and Justice for review and comment.
Under section 5(c) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC and the House and Senate Committees were provided with copies of the comments received during the public comment period, as well as other documents when requested. The Board received comments from IRRC, the response to which is set forth in a separate document. In preparing the final-form rulemaking, the Board considered all comments from IRRC, the House and Senate Committees and the public.
The Board received comments in favor of the rulemaking from the following: Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS); Bill Marencic, Robin Roscoe, Mark Fine, Anthony S. Blackwell, Sr., Lisa J. Baer, Jean E. Davis, Dan Clougherty and Barbara Clougherty, TIPS trainers; John Koury, Avalon Resource Group, a TIPS trainer; Senator John Rafferty; Senator Jim Brewster; Senator Wayne Fontana; Representative Chris Ross; Representative Paul Costa; and Representative Mike Regan. The Board also received comments opposed to the rulemaking from the following: Amy Christie, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage & Tavern Association; Danette Small-Shultz, Vice President of Subs, Inc., a restaurant liquor licensee; and Senator Richard Alloway, II.
Under section 5.1(j.2) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(j.2)), on October 7, 2015, the final-form rulemaking was deemed approved by the House and Senate Committees. Under section 5.1(e) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC met on October 8, 2015, and approved the final-form rulemaking.
Findings
The Board finds that:
(1) Public notice of intention to adopt the administrative amendments adopted by this order has been given under sections 201 and 202 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P. L. 769, No. 240) (45 P. S. §§ 1201 and 1202) and the regulations thereunder, 1 Pa. Code §§ 7.1 and 7.2.
(2) The amendments to the Board's regulations in the manner provided in this order are necessary and appropriate for the administration of the Liquor Code.
(3) The revisions that were made to this final-form rulemaking do not enlarge the purpose of the proposed rulemaking published at 45 Pa.B. 1850.
Order
The Board, acting under the authorizing statute, orders that:
(a) The regulations of the Board, 40 Pa. Code Chapter 5, are amended by amending §§ 5.211, 5.232 and 5.233 to read as set forth in Annex A, with ellipses referring to the existing text of the regulations.
(b) The Board shall certify this order and Annex A and deposit them with the Legislative Reference Bureau as required by law.
(c) This order shall become effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
TIM HOLDEN,
Chairperson(Editor's Note: For the text of the order of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission relating to this document, see 45 Pa.B. 6374 (October 24, 2015).)
Fiscal Note: Fiscal Note 54-79 remains valid for the final adoption of the subject regulations.
Annex A
TITLE 40. LIQUOR
PART I. LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD
CHAPTER 5. DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF LICENSEES
Subchapter I. RESPONSIBLE ALCOHOL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
COURSE OF STUDY § 5.211. Course of study for alcohol service personnel.
(a) A standard curriculum for the course of study will be provided by the BAE.
(b) The BAE is authorized to review curriculum submitted by another training provider and to certify the curriculum if it is equivalent to or exceeds the BAE's standard curriculum. A request for review of curriculum must be accompanied by a nonrefundable $250 application fee.
(1) In the event that the training provider's curriculum is not equivalent to or does not exceed the BAE's standard curriculum, the BAE will advise the training provider in writing within 90 days of receiving the curriculum and fee as to subjects where the training provider's curriculum is deficient.
(2) The training provider has the opportunity to correct and resubmit its curriculum no more than two times. Curriculum resubmitted under this subsection does not require the payment of an additional fee.
(3) If the training provider's curriculum is still deficient after the second and final resubmission, the BAE will not accept submissions or resubmissions from the training provider for 1 year from the date that the BAE sent notification to the training provider that the second resubmission was deficient.
INSTRUCTORS § 5.232. Instructor responsibilities.
Instructors have the responsibility to do the following:
(1) Using the standard curriculum provided by the BAE or a curriculum certified by the BAE, provide students with information regarding the current status of the law on issues regarding the sale or service of alcoholic beverages by licensees.
(2) Schedule training sessions in locations throughout this Commonwealth.
(3) Conduct at least two training sessions per quarter and train at least 225 students per year. Instructors may request a waiver of the minimum requirements in this paragraph by sending a letter or e-mail to the BAE. The BAE will waive the requirements for minimum training activity for instructors due to temporary, nonrecurrent exigencies, such as instructor illness or family emergency, bad weather or other circumstances beyond the instructor's control.
(4) Provide accurate records of attendance and course completion, as required under § 5.233(c) (relating to minimum standards of training), to the BAE within 7 calendar days following each training session through the BAE's web site. Original attendance sheets shall be submitted to the BAE by first class United States mail, other delivery or express service, transmission by facsimile or by e-mail.
(5) Attend instructor meetings twice per year as scheduled by the BAE.
(6) Attend manager/owner training at least once per year.
§ 5.233. Minimum standards of training.
(a) Instructors shall conduct training sessions conforming to either the BAE's standard curriculum or a curriculum certified by the BAE.
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[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-2004. Filed for public inspection November 13, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
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