Bill > SB608

This bill, titled "Local liquor excise tax & rates," aims to modify how local liquor excise taxes are handled and defined in New Mexico. It establishes a new section within the Tax Administration Act to ensure that revenues collected from a county's local liquor excise tax are transferred back to that specific county. The bill also amends the definitions section of the Local Liquor Excise Tax Act, adding definitions for "beer," "cider," "fortified wine," "microbrewer," "small winegrower," "spirituous liquor," and "wine," while also clarifying existing definitions. Crucially, it revises the authorization for imposing local liquor excise taxes, allowing governing bodies of specific class B counties to enact ordinances for a tax on retailers, subject to voter approval, and also permits other counties to impose an excise tax on wholesalers with different rates for various alcoholic beverages, including exemptions for beer and wine produced by microbrewers and small winegrowers, respectively. These taxes, once approved by voters, are intended to fund programs for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse, and the bill outlines procedures for extending these taxes and for counties to share revenue from taxes imposed within a shared municipality.