HARRISBURG — How much the Pennsylvania treasury will suffer from privatizing state-controlled wine and liquor sales — and how to keep prices from rising in such a system — will be among the many questions a key state senator will try to answer as he finalizes a piece of much-anticipated legislation.

Sen. Charles McIlhinney, R-Bucks, still has a lot to consider in a shrinking amount of time after he wrapped up the third and final Senate Law and Justice Committee hearing Tuesday on the liberalization of Pennsylvania's beer, wine and liquor sales.

The hearing was the start of what is expected to be a busy month as Gov. Tom Corbett presses lawmakers to pass legislation on the matter before July 1, when lawmakers traditionally leave Harrisburg for the summer.

But a bill that passed the House in March is essentially dead in the Senate, and McIlhinney now must wrestle with the expectations of the beer-drinking public, opponents to a state-controlled wine and liquor system and a slew of companies that want a piece of the alcoholic beverage business in Pennsylvania.

“Nobody has been able to consistently define what privatization is,” McIlhinney said after the hearing. “Getting that all together and putting it out there that everybody can say, 'Yeah, that's what I meant by privatization,' is something I'm going to try to do.”

McIlhinney said he expects to finish writing his legislation in the next two weeks and seek passage in a chamber controlled 27-23 by his fellow Republicans.

The issue is a special one for Corbett, a champion for privatization who would like a high-profile legislative victory before he runs for re-election next year.

Underscoring that importance, Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley was flanked by several top administration aides, including Health Secretary Michael Wolf and State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, as he said the private sector can be trusted to sell alcohol and stressed the administration's commitment to responsible sales.

At one time, backers of privatizing the system had figured it could raise $2 billion or more in a one-time windfall. But that expectation in the Senate is gone, and McIlhinney said trying to raise substantial sums from selling retail and wholesale wine and liquor licenses will simply jack up prices.

“We're not trying to raise the money,” McIlhinney said.

“I guess if I gouge my consumers I can get more money out of it, but this is about the convenience and choice for the citizens.”