Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the alcoholic content of beer, to provide for a certain tax and revenue distribution, and to provide for the distribution of certain revenue to the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Account.

This legislation will regulate all beer products regardless of alcohol content and will change the standard of measurementfromalcoholbyweighttoalcoholbyvolumetoalignIdaholawwithFederallaws. Thislegislation authorizes over the course of three years, 5% of tax revenues derived from “strong beer” to be reallocated from the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission to the Idaho Hop Growers Commission. This reallocation would reduce the Idaho Grape Growers & Wine Producers Commission budget by approximately $146,335.20. ThisLegislationmakestheIdahoGrape&WineCommission’sbudgetwholeagainbyincreasing the Commission’s current percentage of the wine excise tax allocation (only the wine that is produced and sold in Idaho) to eighty-eight percent (88%) over the course of three years. In 1988 legislation was passed and signed into law that made “strong beer” (beer exceeding 4% alcohol by weight) considered and taxed as wine. In 1994 legislation was passed and signed into law that authorized the Idaho Grape Growers & Wine Producers Commission to receive 5% of the total wine excise tax (for both in-state and out-of-state wine that is sold.) Almost 50% of all wine excise taxes are derived from strong beer sales.