Beer Tax Increase May Become Reality

The drumbeat is getting louder in Charleston for raising the beer tax to fund substance abuse programs.

WSAZ-TV reported Tuesday that the proposal -- which is in two bills before the Legislature -- is receiving bipartisan support. One bill would increase the tax on beer by 1 cent a can/bottle; another would raise it by 4 cents can/bottle.

"I think there are a lot of members [in the House] and in the Senate that understand alcohol and drug abuse effects everyone," Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, told WSAZ. "Friends, neighbors, loved ones. If we don't have the money to help those folks, then it becomes a criminal problem in many cases."