W. Va. Bill Would Use Beer Tax Revenues to Pay for Addiction Programs

A Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates wants to raise the start’s beer tax from 1 cent per bottle to 2 cents and use the expected $10 million in proceeds to pay for addiction treatment and prevention, the Charleston Gazette reported Feb. 3.

Delegate Bill Hamilton said the bill, HB4253, was inspired by his son’s struggle with addiction and the state’s lack of treatment services.

The state’s alcohol industry vowed to fight the measure; a similar bill was killed last year.

In November, a report from the West Virginia Partnership for Community Well-Being, a panel sponsored by the governor’s office, released a statewide alcohol and other drug strategy that called for spending $23.5 million annually on treatment, prevention, and related services. Gov. Joe Manchin had said finding the money would be a top priority, but his office this week stressed the dire straits facing the state’s budget.