House Taxation yesterday shot down the food tax repeal and both alcohol taxes that I reported on Tuesday. However, they did hoghouse the per-drink tax to divert some existing revenue toward counties. House Bill 1308 now proposes to raise the chunk of the alcoholic beverage fund that the state gives to counties from 25% to 50%. Municipalities currently get 25% of that fund; HB 1308 does not increase munis’ share.
Counties just started getting that 25% two years ago, thanks to the passage of 2016 SB 2. That change appears to have dropped the state’s general fund receipts from its alcoholic beverage tax from $11.4M in FY2016 to $7.6M in FY2017.
Since HB 1308 would give counties the 50% share of the alcoholic beverage fund instead of the state, the projected $7.91 million in state general fund receipts from the alcoholic beverage tax in FY2019 would become the counties’ take. HB 1308 maintains the current formula for distribution of that money: 25% of the money is divvied up evenly among all 66 counties; 75% is doled out proportionate to population.
Hoghoused HB 1308 is one of five House bills for which today is “Do or Die”: it’s Crossover Day! That means every bill must pass out of its chamber of origin today or be lost. (A creative motion could also mean that Speaker Mickelson and Speaker-Elect Haugaard have to wear dresses throughout today’s meeting.)