Restaurant relief bill on move in the house
Photo | Grant Welker
The Parkway restaurant and bar in Worcester has temporarily closed.
To-go cocktail sales, a cap on third-party delivery service fees and the waiver of penalties and interest for late meals tax payments are core components of a restaurant relief bill that could hit the House floor for a vote on Wednesday.
The bill (H 4767) earned initial approval in the House on Tuesday, after it emerged from the House Ways and Means Committee. There were no dissenting votes when the committee advanced the bill, according to a spokesman.
Rep. Paul McMurtry, a Dedham Democrat who serves on a restaurant promotion commission established under a 2019 law, said the bill will be "very helpful to a very significant sector" of the state's economy.
When the COVID-19 pandemic and new public health restrictions forced restaurants to either close for an indeterminate period or dramatically adjust their operations and work within the confines of limited revenues, the commission shifted gears to focus on helping the industry recover.
"When you look at it, who doesn't want to see a local restaurant succeed and survive?" McMurtry said. "They bring a sense of community, a sense of normalcy, a sense of socialization."
Restaurants remain limited to takeout and delivery service only under a March order from Gov. Charlie Baker. McMurtry, who co-chairs the Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, said restaurants have experienced almost $2 billion in lost sales and more than 200,000 employees have been laid off.
"The major concern at this point, as we navigate these uncertain times, is trying as best as we can to give restaurants and small businesses the tools they need to sustain and survive," he told the News Service. "There's a real, major concern that many may not ever be able to reopen again."
Some restaurants have already shut their doors permanently or announced plans to do so. Stella Restaurant and Bar, in Boston's South End, closed May 15 after 15 years, writing on Facebook, "Please know that this was not in our control [and] we had hoped to come out of this stronger."
Restaurants will be able to resume on-site, outdoor dining, with safety precautions, when the state shifts into the next phase of Gov. Charlie Baker's gradual economic reopening plan, and could be authorized to start indoor service later in Phase II.
Baker on Monday signed an executive order that his administration said would help provide opportunities for outdoor table service by giving local licensing authorities flexibility to approve changes to liquor licenses.
The bill contains similar language, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said it would leave the streamlined licensing process in place through November 2020.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo flagged the issue of liquor licenses in a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce last month, saying that restaurants were interested in amending existing licenses so that they could serve alcohol outdoors.
Senate President Karen Spilka also expressed interest in liquor license flexibility in a recent interview. She said restaurants typically need ABCC approval after their local government signs off, which "can sometimes take months," and described facilitating a quicker process as "something that I believe we should do."
DeLeo also told the Chamber that lawmakers have "heard from many restaurants struggling with the meals tax." The House bill would waive penalty fees and interest for late meals tax payments through the end of the year.
An April 3 law, also aimed at providing struggling restaurants with additional revenue, allowed establishments holding liquor licenses to sell beer and wine with takeout or delivery food orders. The bill extends that authorization until the end of February 2021, and adds in the ability to sell to-go cocktails with food orders.
The drinks would need to be in sealed containers and customers would be limited to 64 ounces of mixed drinks per transaction.
Michlewitz said legislators had considered including cocktails in the original takeout drinks law, and have since watched how other states have handled the idea.
"We've never done anything like this in the commonwealth, so we wanted to see how the beer and wine sales would go, and maybe what kind of challenges would come from that," he told the News Service. "So far I think it's something that the restaurants have certainly appreciated. It's not the be all and end all, and it hasn't saved the restaurant industry to say the least, but it's certainly something they've been appreciative of."
The bill would also bar third-party delivery services from charging restaurants a fee per online order that exceeds 15 percent of the order's purchase price. Michlewitz said that measure was based in part on a Rep. Michael Day bill that proposed a 10 percent cap.
A North End Democrat whose district includes many restaurants, Michlewitz said he's also heard personally of delivery apps that "had been really pushing the limits on how much commission they were charging per order."
"There had been a noticeable shift from pre-COVID to when the shelter-in-place took effect," Michlewitz said. "There was a real concern of them taking advantage, of especially our small restaurants in particular."
The House plans to hold a formal session, with remote voting, on Wednesday. Michlewitz said the goal is to take up both the restaurant bill and a bill expanding vote-by-mail options for this fall's elections. House leaders have advised members that they could schedule a second formal session on Thursday if needed.
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