Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Server Elizabeth Knapp at Chiodo’s Ferro Cucina presents entrees to Rhonda and Scott Palmer on Friday.

Republicans and Democrats have a huge menu of ideas to help restaurants survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Getting them to come to agreement on one or two of the menu items is a different matter entirely.

In the past month, more than a dozen piece of legislation have been introduced in the state House of Representatives and state Senate.

In general, Republican proposals seek to either repeal limitations on restaurant capacity, reduce fees or payments back to the state or find more ways for restaurants and bars to increase their capacity without changing Wolf’s seating capacity limitations. Proposals sponsored by Democrats include new grant programs.

Both sides have sponsored legislation that would remove fees for off-premise catering permits, some sales tax payments and liquor license fees, meaning those areas may see some movement soon.

GOP PROPOSALS

Rep. Gary W. Day, R-Berks/Lehigh, has introduced restaurant pandemic assistance legislation as an option to help businesses stay afloat. House Bill 2789 would enable restaurants required to operate at less than 100% capacity due to restrictions imposed by the governor to apply to the Department of Revenue and, if approved, convert an amount of sales tax collected from their sales of food and beverage into a grant. Any amount of sales tax converted would not have to be repaid by the restaurant.

Once restaurants participating in the grant program are able to operate at 100%, they would be ineligible for the program and would resume remitting collected sales tax to the state according to current law.

“Restaurant owners across the state are struggling and may not survive the devastation of the Wolf administration’s extreme limitations on their operations,” Day said. “My legislation would allow these businesses to convert their sales tax revenues into grant funds, giving them the help they so desperately need. I truly think this is a viable solution to aid our hurting restaurants, their owners and employees.”

Similar legislation (House Bill 2832) has been introduced by Rep. Matthew Dowling, R-Fayette/Somerset. Dowling would roll back Gov. Tom Wolf’s capacity limits on restaurants and allow up to 50% capacity in restaurants. Similar legislation has been proposed by Rep. Mike Jones, R-York.

“This is commonsense legislation that will give these already struggling businesses a chance to make ends meet while also mitigating the spread of COVID-19,” Dowling wrote in his legislative memorandum. “With so many of our constituents on the verge of losing everything, I hope I can count on you to help save the livelihoods of thousands by co-sponsoring this legislation.”

In early August, Rep. Kurt Masser, R-Northumberland/Columbia/Montour, introduced House Bill 2751 in early August to create the Small Restaurant Grant Program. Masser’s proposal is to dedicate $150 million of assistance to restaurants that have between one and 10 locations in Pennsylvania that lost at least 50% of their monthly sales in April and May 2020. Qualifying restaurants would be eligible for up to $25,000 per location to use for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or the purchase of food and beverage materials for restaurant operations.

Masser’s bill is similar to legislation proposed earlier in the summer by Rep. Todd Stephens, R-Montgomery, and Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne, with the main difference being the months restaurant business was affected.

House Bill 2751 has several Republican co-sponsors as well as Democrats Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, Robert Merski, D-Erie, Ed Neilson, D-Philadalphia, and Mark Rozzi, D-Berks.

Day and Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Berks/Lehigh, have also introduced legislation that would allow restaurants to continue collecting sales tax for the sale of food and beverages within their establishments but not require payment to the state until restrictions are removed. A restaurant would be required to submit an application to the Department of Revenue and, if approved, would convert the amount of sales tax collected into a grant. If these restaurants close, the Commonwealth stands to lose far more revenue than the sales tax on 25 % capacity operations of these businesses.

Rep. Kurt Masser, R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland, has introduced five bills to help the state’s bars deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Bill 2848 would expand liquor licenses to non-contigious areas within 150 feet of their property to increase the outdoor space available to bars and restaurants to recoup some of the money they are losing.

House Bill 2847 would eliminate the off-premise catering permit fee charged to each applicant, any limitation on the number of catered events authorized under the permit and any limit on hours of operation for a catered event. The limitation would be in place during Wolf’s disaster declaration.

Masser also proposes House Bill 2846 to allow liquor license holders to deliver wine and mixed drinks as they are now able to deliver malt and brewed beverages during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

House Bill 2845 would allow for a one-year increase in the discount businesses receive when they purchase liquor from the Pennsyvlania Liquor Control Board from 10% to 20% and the minimum purchase amount would be waived for a year.

Lastly, House Bill 2844 would authorize off-premise consumption of mixed drinks legal for qualifying bars.

DEMOCRAT-BACKED PROPOSALS

State Reps. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, and Pam Snyder, D-Greene/Fayette/Washington, have introduced House Bill 2790 to create a grant program for small businesses that need assistance implementing COVID-19 mitigation efforts as they reopen. House Bill 2790 would cover small businesses that have been financially harmed by the pandemic, focusing on “mom and pop”-style businesses most in need. The grants would help protect against, educate about, and prevent future waves of the virus, the legislators said.

“As we continue to reopen our economy, we need to ensure that businesses have the tools to open safely and protect their customers and employees,” Ciresi said. “Sometimes reopening safely comes with added expenses, which is troublesome when many of these businesses have already spent weeks or months without income. This bill would help businesses overcome the economic barriers to preventing further spread of COVID-19.”

Additionally, Democrats have packaged nine bills that would provide a myriad of grants to local restaurants, bars and clubs, reduce and eliminate specific licensing fees, extend discounts to licensees and protect businesses by guaranteeing their insurance pays out in future emergencies.

The House Democratic package includes:

¯ Earmarking CARES grant funding from the federal government to be directed to small, community restaurants instead of national chains to ensure those dollars are invested back into the region. (Rep. Joe Ciresi, Montgomery County & Rep. Tina Davis, Bucks County)

¯ Earmarking CARES grant funding from the federal government for Pennsylvania breweries, distilleries and wineries forced to reduce capacity to protect patrons. Most of these businesses are small and family-operated and help support multiple community efforts, and this funding will help keep them in operation. (Rep. Steve Malagari, Montgomery County)

¯ Expanding access to outdoor dining for restaurants and diners, including removing limitations concerning public thoroughfares, fees and delays in approval. Scientific evidence is growing that outdoor activity is a much lower risk than indoor dining, and helping restaurants add space outdoors can help them stay open while giving people an opportunity to get out and enjoy themselves. (Rep. Dan Deasy Allegheny County)

¯ Waiving the liquor license renewal fee for any bar, restaurant or club that suffered more than a 25% downturn in business due to the virus. The state can wait; the people running the local businesses might not be able to. (Rep. Gerald Mullery, Luzerne County)

¯ Increasing the discount for restaurants and bars holding liquor licenses when they purchase wholesale alcohol from 10% to 15%, putting more money back in the pockets of operators to keep their doors open and staff employed. (Rep. Mary Isaacson, Philadelphia)

¯ Eliminating the $500 off-premise catering permit fee to allow more restaurants to safely cook food in kitchens and deliver it to safe outdoor locations, as well as remove the March deadline to submit an application to do off-premise catering, and end the 52-event-per-year cap (Rep. Steve McCarter, Montgomery County)

¯ Eliminating sales tax late payment penalties on restaurants and bars purchasing alcohol from wholesalers and allowing for a repayment grace period when the industry has recovered. (Rep. Jake Wheatley, Allegheny County)

¯ Requiring business insurance policies to pay damages and benefits when a disaster emergency is declared. An insurance policy that doesn’t pay the holder when emergencies arise is worse than no coverage at all — it’s money that could have been used to reinvest in the business thrown away. When the pandemic hit, many policies invoked an “Act of God” loophole to not pay damages, and our businesses have suffered. (Rep. Frank Dermody, Allegheny & Westmoreland counties)

¯ Allowing license holders with licenses in safekeeping relief from paying the license renewal or validation fee for a period of one year. Just a few months ago, many of these businesses were making renovations and improvements that would have put them in a position to remove their license from safekeeping and start operating — the virus delay shouldn’t stop these entrepreneurs from reinvesting in their communities. (Rep. Anita Kulik, Allegheny County)