As the Philadelphia City Council continues to try and mend the unbalanced tax system, the proposed ideas for generating money are getting more creative.
Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, the New Majority Whip, is introducing a bill that would allow bars to be open until 3 a.m. with the liquor tax revenue aiding the city's schools.
"The impetus for me was to look to see where we could find new dollars separate from property tax," Reynolds Brown said.
State Representative Vanessa Lowery Brown has plans to introduce such a bill in the State House of Representatives in order to give Philadelphia the power to decide operating hours. Currently the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has that authority. The bill must pass in the State General Assembly in Harrisburg for approval.
"In this day and age of budget shortfalls and declining education funding, we must think of creative solutions, thinking outside the box and exhaust unconventional avenues of revenue,” said Reynolds Brown in a press release.
The bill is projected to produce an additional $5 million for the schools in addition to the $42 million liquor taxes generated in 2010.
The bill does have its detractors, though, including people concerned about a possible increase in drunk driving.
"That's another hour that people are sitting there drinking and potentially then having more alcohol in their systems," said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Jenny Robinson.
