A similar scene played out several times in recent weeks. For example, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler asked lawmakers to reject a bill classifying Mike's Hard Lemonade and other sugary alcohol products as "beer."
A number of lawmakers and county public health directors also opposed the measure, saying the products are marketed to teens and should not be afforded the wide distribution or lower taxes of beer. Supporters noted that most other states allowed this classification and that the products had roughly the same percentage of alcohol as beer.
The bill passed in the Senate, 36-10, and is scheduled to be heard Tuesday by a House committee.
Bronrott said he also expects that his proposal to raise alcohol taxes will fail.
More than a dozen people - including students, recovering alcoholics and addiction experts - testified before a House committee considering the tax increases, which would have amounted to pennies per drink.
Lawmakers seemed moved by the emotional testimony, but there appears to be little chance that the increases will pass. State taxes on alcohol haven't gone up since 1955 for liquor and 1972 for beer and wine. The rates are among the lowest in the nation.
Bar owners also scored a big victory when a bill banning slot-like video gambling machines was amended to exempt thousands of machines reportedly used for illegal payouts in Baltimore City and Baltimore County taverns. Lawmakers who crafted the amendment say there was no need for the provision, because the alleged payouts are already illegal.
"It's a pretty amazing accomplishment for special interests," Comptroller Peter Franchot said. "These video poker machines are magnets for corruption, for tax evasion and for vice, and you have an opportunity to get rid of them and the liquor industry and the gambling industry are blocking it."
Bigger recipients
Lawmakers who lead the House and Senate, or sit on committees that handle liquor laws, tend to receive the most campaign money from the industry.
For Love, contributions from alcohol interests made up 12 percent of the total she raised in the last election cycle.
Two delegates who sit on her subcommittee - Anne Arundel County Republican James King and Baltimore County Democrat Joseph J. "Sonny" Minnick - own bars, although both men said that doesn't pose a conflict of interest.
