The Alabama Legislature would have sole authority over the markup the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control board applies to liquor and wine, under a bill that is ready for Senate consideration.

Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 21, approved SB120 by Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison.

Currently, the ABC board has markup authority.

Since Nov. 1, 2017, the board’s markup has been 35 percent on wholesale and state store sales of bottles of liquor and wine. State law limits the state markup on the wholesale price of cases of liquor and wine to 16.99 percent. In Alabama, spirits are taxed at 56 percent of the markup price. Sales taxes also apply.

Last year, the three-member board increased its markup by 5 percent with the extra money going to the court system and district attorneys for the current fiscal year only.

Holtzclaw said the intent of his bill is to keep the ABC board from “raising a fee to cover a gap in the state’s budget.”

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