The state Supreme Court yesterday declined to take immediate jurisdiction over the attempt by Friends Against Counterproductive Taxation to reduce Allegheny County's 10 percent drink tax by referendum.

The court will not hear the case by the restaurateurs and bar owners who want to reduce the levy to 0.5 percent until Commonwealth Court makes a ruling. Attorneys for FACT and county Solicitor Mike Wojcik are scheduled to make oral arguments in Commonwealth Court on Monday in Harrisburg.

"The Supreme Court wants the Commonwealth Court to have its swing at the ball before they take the case. Obviously, the court believes we will have enough time to present the case before election deadlines," said Ron Barber, a FACT attorney.

The group is appealing a county board of elections decision and a Common Pleas Court ruling that threw its referendum petition off the November ballot. It asked the Supreme Court to use its King's Bench power to take the case because of pending election ballot deadlines.