San Francisco City Hall (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) – San Francisco lawmakers have approved a fee on alcohol distribution to help the city recover the cost of dealing with problem drinkers, but the measure faces a likely mayoral veto.
The Board of Supervisors voted 7-3 Tuesday to impose the fee on liquor wholesalers, brew pubs and winemakers beginning Jan. 1. But it needed eight votes to survive a promised veto from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Under the proposal, the first of its kind in California, alcohol distributors would be charged 35 cents for every gallon of beer they sell, $1 for a gallon of wine and $3.20 for a gallon of hard liquor.
The city controller estimates it would bring in about $16 million a year for ambulance rides, arrests, treatment programs and other alcohol-related services.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)






![Honda, "Matthew's Day Off" [ WATCH THE VIDEO ]](http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/honda-matthews-day-off.jpg?w=126&h=95&crop=1)

![Paul McCartney [ ENTER TO WIN A PAUL McCARTNEY BOX SET FROM KCBS ]](http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/86040771.jpg?w=126&h=95&crop=1)



![Blazing-Hot Chef Competition 2012 [ MORE FOODIE CHAP HERE ]](http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/blazing-hot-chefscomp-103.jpg?w=126&h=95&crop=1)













2 Comments
Of course Gav will veto it because of all his rich drinking friends and associates. Plus he has a high priced restaurant, I think a winery or two, and he’s an alcoholic. S.F. gets worse every day!
September 15, 2010 at 3:41 pm | | Report comment
Hospitality is a major S. F. industry, and drinking in S.F. bars and restaurants
is already prohibitive. Move to Orinda.
January 7, 2011 at 8:39 pm | | Report comment