Gansler said the bill's success was a testament to the power of the liquor lobby in Annapolis. He cited a Sun analysis of campaign donations that showed alcohol interests have given about $2.8 million since 1998, an average of nearly $350,000 annually to hundreds of candidates.
Manufacturers of the drinks, which include some of the nation's biggest brewers, contributed $33,700 to Maryland political candidates over the past decade. The Maryland Beer Wholesalers Association contributed an additional $53,000.
"There is no gray area here," Gansler said, calling on O'Malley to veto the bill. "The alcohol industry itself will say they're targeting entry-level drinkers with these drinks. ... This is what kids are drinking. This is what kids can buy."
Lobbyists and representatives of alcohol manufacturers say the drinks are being unfairly targeted. They say most studies that have found the drinks to be popular among teenage girls also found generic beer to be equally popular among kids in the same age groups.
They also note that in a 2003 investigation, the Federal Trade Commission found "no evidence of intent to target minors" with the drinks, according to a letter the agency sent federal lawmakers.
Gary Galanis, a spokesman for Diageo North America, the U.S. subsidiary of the company that makes Smirnoff Ice and other "flavored malt beverages," said the debate had nothing to do with teen drinking.
"This is about maintaining the status quo of flavored beer the way it has been for the past 40 years in Maryland," he said.
If the bill is vetoed, he said, the drinks will be taxed at $1.50 a gallon, the same rate as spirits, instead of the 9 cents a gallon of beer. That would be "a 1,600 percent tax increase. We really hope the governor signs off on this, and many consumers would like to see him sign it as well."
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said he wants O'Malley to sign the legislation and doesn't think the drinks are marketed to teens. House Speaker Michael E. Busch also voted for the bill.
Yesterday's meeting capped a furious push in the past week by a host of advocates to get O'Malley to veto the law. In addition to Charles Hurley, the CEO of MADD, O'Malley met with the executive director of the American Public Health Association, the Maryland Association of County Health Officials, representatives of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Maryland Emergency Nurses Association.
