San Francisco Supervisors Pass Alcohol Fee
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) - San Francisco lawmakers have approved a fee on alcohol distribution to help the city recover the cost of dealing with problem drinkers, but the measure faces a likely mayoral veto.
The Board of Supervisors voted 7-3 Tuesday to impose the fee on liquor wholesalers, brew pubs and winemakers beginning Jan. 1. But it needed eight votes to survive a promised veto from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Under the proposal, the first of its kind in California, alcohol distributors would be charged 35 cents for every gallon of beer they sell, $1 for a gallon of wine and $3.20 for a gallon of hard liquor.
The city controller estimates it would bring in about $16 million a year for ambulance rides, arrests, treatment programs and other alcohol-related services.
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