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(Continued from Page 1) the legislation was initially proposed, funding for local detoxification centers would have come from an additional 6.75 cent tax on each liter of liquor or wine sold at Alcoholic Beverage Control outlets. But the Senate Finance Committee rejected Guest’s proposed tax increase on the basis that another bill had already upped the tax on alcohol from 15 to 20 percent. The committee members indicated that an uncommitted portion of that five percent hike could be used for detoxification centers. Guest's tax would have raised S5 million over the next two years, however, while the budget approved by the legislature in early March allocates only $500,000 “for grants to selected localities for alcohol detoxification centers.”
“They killed my tax for it and now the money’s going to come from the General Fund,” Guest noted in an interview last week. “This way at least, I don’t get stuck with being a proponent of higher taxes," he joked.
Jails Overcrowded
In a more serious vein, Guest stressed the importance of “getting the drunks out of the jails.”
Penal facilities throughout the state are alarmingly overcrowded, he noted. His bill for detoxification centers will create more room in the jails for criminals, Guest
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