USA: North Dakota’s Secretary of State approves petition for raising beer taxes

The Secretary of State Al Jaeger approved an initiative petition that advocates raising North Dakota beer taxes to provide money for efforts to discourage alcohol and drug abuse, Associted Press reported on April 18.

Jaeger's action Monday means the petition may now be circulated by its supporters. The measure is a proposed state law, which would be put on the books if voters approve. The petition needs signatures from at least 12,844 North Dakota voters by Aug. 8 for it to earn a spot on the November general election ballot.

North Dakota's beer tax is now 8 cents per gallon for keg beer and 16 cents per gallon for beer sold in bottles and cans. The initiative seeks to double the keg beer tax to 16 cents a gallon, and increase the bottled-beer tax by 50 percent, from 16 to 24 cents a gallon.

The newly raised money would be used to establish a five-member "responsible choices commission," which would be appointed by the governor.The commission would provide money for grants and contracts to discourage alcohol and drug abuse, underage drinking, drunken driving, and "related destructive behaviors," the ballot measure says.

The increased beer taxes would raise the state levy on a 15.5-gallon keg of beer from $1.24 to $2.48, and increase the tax on a case of canned or bottled beer from 36 cents to 54 cents. It would raise the cost of a 12-ounce beer by less than a penny.

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