Updated July 29, 2024
During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Oregon Legislative Assembly passed House Bill 3610, which was then signed by the Governor. This bill initiated the creation of the Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services.
The House Bill specifies that task force members shall:
- Study alcohol addiction and alcohol addiction prevention;
- Distribution of resources for alcohol addiction treatment;
- Current overall funding for alcohol addiction treatment programs;
- Cost of alcohol addiction to the state; benefits and drawbacks of imposing taxes on beer and wine;
- And additional funding options for alcohol addiction treatment.
BASIC FACTS ABOUT ALCOHOL TAX IN OREGON
Oregon is a “control” state – meaning a state agency monitors alcohol and regulates shipping and sales of distilled spirits. That state agency is the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission.
FEDERAL TAX – dollars per gallon
- Beer Tax Rate – $0.58
- Wine and Cider Tax Rates – $1.07 – $3.40 depending on alcohol content
- Distilled Spirits Tax Rate – $13.50
OREGON – dollars per gallon
- Beer Excise Tax Rate – $0.08
- Wine and Cider Excise Tax Rate – $0.67
- Distilled Spirits Excise Tax Rate – $22.86
Most alcohol tax revenue goes to the general fund of the state, counties, and cities – over $300 million dollars in 2021-2022. “General fund” means the money can be spent how the state, city, or counties want. Only 2.25% went to a “Mental Health Alcohol & Drug Services Account,” about $7.7 million, and a fraction of that to treatment of alcoholism and prevention of harm caused by the alcohol industry.
TAX SPENDING
- $363 million – state general fund
- $196 million – cities general fund
- $58 million – counties general fund
- $8 million – MH/AD account
IMPORTANT TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR ALCOHOL IN OREGON
- No tax on beer, cider or wine sold to the OLCC or exported from the state. This means alcohol can be shipped to LOWER tax states for sales, or in the case of beer, shipped to Oregon where tax is lower than average
- No tax on beer given away and consumed at a brewery
- No tax on beer sold on a military base or place of business
- No tax on the first 40,000 gallons of wine sold annually in Oregon from a US manufacturer of wines producing less than 100,000 gallons annually
- Oregon has no sales tax
INFORMATION ABOUT HB 3610 – Overview, text, analysis, amendments and testimony for and against the bill.
FULL TEXT – HB 3610 Enrolled text (final version of the bill)
MEMBERS OF THE TASK FORCE
Representatives of the alcohol industry
Jamie Floyd, Ninkasi Brewing Co. – representative from the beer industry
Marcus Reed, Widmer Brewing and Anheuser Busch – representative from the beer industry
Fawn Barrie, Executive Director, Oregon Wine Council – representative from the wine industry
Jana McKamey, Executive Director, Oregon Winegrowers Association – representative from the wine industry
Aaron Sarnoff-Wood, Co-Founder, 2 Towns Ciderhouse – representative from the cider industry
Danelle Romain, Association Executive Director, Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors – representative of alcohol distributors
Representatives of governments
Representative Tawna Sanchez (D), House District 43 TASK FORCE CHAIR – nonvoting member
Tom Jeanne MD, Deputy State Health Officer/Epidemiologist at Oregon Health Authority – representative of the Oregon Health Authority
Annaliese Dolph, Executive Director, Alcohol Drugs and Policy Commission – representative of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission
Sarah Lochner, Executive Director, Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials – representative of the Association of Oregon Counties
Robb Corbett, City Manager of Pendleton – representative of the League of Oregon Cities
Senator Janeen Sollman (D), Senate District 15 – nonvoting member
Senator Tim Knopp (R), Senate District 27 – nonvoting member
Representative E. Werner Reschke (R), House District 55 – nonvoting member
Craig Prins, OLCC Executive Director – representative of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission
Jason Renaud, Mental Health Association of Portland – representative of the alcohol addiction advocacy community
(Mike Marshall of Oregon Recovers was initially appointed by Gov. Kotek and then removed by the Governor days prior to the initial meeting of the Task Force).
Todd Jeter LCSW, CADC III, Interim Director Transformation Samaritan Health Plans–Inter Community Health – representative of community care organizations
Sean Kolmer MPH, EVP, External Affairs, Oregon Association of Hospitals & Health Systems (OAHHS) – representative of hospitals in this state
Solara Salazar, Executive Director, Cielo Treatment Center – individual who is a community provider of alcohol addiction services
Chief Doug Barrett, Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw – individual who is a community provider of alcohol addiction services
Information about Task Force meeting, including schedules for upcoming meetings, agenda, presentations, recordings is here. Meetings are available to be watched online. No minutes are being kept.
TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT
DRAFT – HB 3610 Task Force Report, September 6, 2024 – admittedly very rough draft by OLCC staff, who afterward invited corrections and suggestions from the Task Force.
RECOMMENDATIONS BY INDIVIDUAL TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Compiled Anonymized Recommendations Received From Members of the HB3610 Task Force. Deadline for recommendations from individual members was July 25. Anonymized versions of recommendations from individuals were not circulated to members by OLCC staff until August 15. Recommendations with attributions were circulated to members on August 30.
ITEMS REVIEWED BY TASK FORCE
2023 State Shared Revenue Report with Estimates – 2024, Oregon League of Cities
Marijuana Tax Distributions – 2024, Oregon Department of Revenue
Substance Use Disorder Financial Analysis Report – 2024, Oregon Health Authority
Substance Use Disorder Financial Analysis – 2024, Oregon Health Authority
Oregon Health Insurance Survey – 2019
MHACBO – OHA Workforce Wage Survey – 2023
Economic Analysis of Excessive Alcohol Use in Oregon – March 2024
Review questions from Task Force Members – April 11 2024
DOWNLOAD – David Jernigan presentation on Alcohol Tax and Public Health 2024. Jernigan, one of the nation’s foremost authorities on alcohol taxes, was not allowed to speak to the Task Force, so this recording was made independently and sent to Task Force members. It was not discussed in any Task Force meetings.
MEDIA
The alcohol industry is placing one-sided “news” articles denigrating the Task Force, and diminishing state, Federal and peer reviewed data showing harm caused by the alcohol industry without comparable contradictory evidence. We won’t be including those media links in this archive.
Rep. Tawna Sanchez Outlines Proposal For New Alcohol Sales Tax – Willamette Week, September 23, 2024
Oregon Politics Is Awash in Alcohol Industry Donations – Willamette Week, September 18, 2024
The Oregon Beverage PAC spends more than $300,000 every year, much of it on contributions to the campaigns of the state’s top politicians. (Its biggest funder is Columbia Distributing, the Portland beverage distributor with reported earnings of $200 million a year.)
“What these contributions do is give them access,” says Mike Marshall, director and co-founder of Oregon Recovers. “Once they have access, they misrepresent the health consequences of alcohol.”
Former Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend)
Total contributions: $153,000Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego)
Total contributions: $71,000Gov. Tina Kotek
Total contributions: $59,500House Speaker Pro Tempore Paul Holvey (D-Eugene)
Total contributions: $51,500Rep. Greg Smith (R-Umatilla)
Total contributions: $37,000
Alcohol task force punts on recommending beer, wine tax levels – Oregonian, September 6, 2028
Oregon Health Authority Updates Alcohol Report to Acknowledge Industry Influence – Willamette Week, August 2024
The report’s new preamble comes after WW disclosed that OHA had released the report despite concerns from the Centers for Disease Control.
The Feds Warned Oregon Officials That a Report on Alcohol Taxes Was Fundamentally Flawed – Willamette Week, July 2024
Oregon Health Authority Scrapped Summer Anti-Alcohol Television Ad Campaign – Willamette Week, July 2024
Oregon’s Top Health Official Meddled in Press Release at Behest of Alcohol Industry Lobbyists – Willamette Week, June 2024
Treating Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Oregon Could Cost $7 Billion – Willamette Week, May 2024
Oregon Health Authority said its cover-up of beer and wine tax study was inadvertent. That’s false – Oregonian February 22, 2024
Email records from OHA in reference to the Eco Northwest Report on Harms Caused by Alcohol – secured February 23, 2024
OHA apologizes for not publishing study that showed limited impact of increased beer, wine taxes on heavy drinking – Oregonian February 2, 2024
Alcohol is third-leading cause of preventable death in Oregon – KPTV.com February 1, 2024
Oregon Beverage Alliance: Alcohol Tax Task Force Must Have Fact-Based Outcome – op ed from Oregon Brewers Alliance
Oregon never publicized a study it funded that found higher beer, wine taxes would barely stem heavy drinking – Oregonian January 25, 2024
Task force on beer and wine taxes and alcohol addiction gets to work – Oregon Capital Chronicle January 19, 2024
Oregon Recovers director Mike Marshall bounced from state alcohol task force over Facebook post – OPB.org, January 5, 2024
Kotek Tosses Oregon Recovers Director Mike Marshall Off Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services Task Force – Willamette Week, January 5 2024
Bill passes Oregon legislature to create task force to evaluate beer and wine tax – KPIC.com July 2023
Task force bill links wine, beer revenue to behavioral health spending – The Lund Report April 27, 2023
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Alcohol Consumption in Oregon – A public health perspective – OHA, 2024 – PPT
Oregon Heath Authority Behavioral Health Residential Facility Study – January 2024 Draft Report
Purpose of the study
- Collect data on the number and type of behavioral health facilities and their associated capacities and identify the gaps in the continuum by Trauma System Area.
- Conduct community engagement sessions with individuals in the State.
- Review available data and prioritize facility types by Trauma System Area.
- Develop funding allocation methodology to inform capital funding requests and distribution processes.
- Develop a final recommendations report that communicates the work completed and planning recommendations.
Estimating the Effects of Hypothetical Alcohol Minimum Unit Pricing Policies on Alcohol Use and Deaths: A State Example (Michigan) – Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, January 2024
Increasing the minimum unit price (MUP) of the 3.5% of spirits with the lowest prices per standard drink to 40 cents could reduce total alcohol per capita consumption in Michigan by 2.6% and prevent 232 (5.3%) alcohol-attributable deaths annually. A 45-cent MUP would affect 8.0% of the spirits and reduce total alcohol per capita consumption by 3.9%, preventing 354 (8.1%) deaths.
Modestly increasing the prices of the lowest-priced spirits with an MUP policy in a single state could save hundreds of lives annually. This suggests that alcohol MUP policies could be an effective strategy for improving public health in the United States, consistent with the World Health Organization’s recommendation.
DUII Monthly Statistical Report – listing all licensed by-the-drink establishments in the state and interdiction, December 2023 – PDF
An example of Monthly Statistics – November 2023 from the OLCC, November 2023 – WORD
Allocation of alcohol tax revenue, 2023 – amounts each Oregon county and city receive in alcohol tax revenue
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) – 2023 (will be available in February 15)
State Performance & Best Practices for the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking Report, SAMHSA 2022 – PDF
Oregon State Report – Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement, SAMHSA 2022 – PDF
Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking 2022, SAMHSA 2022 – PDF
This report focuses on underage alcohol use, as required by the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (the “STOP Act”). The STOP Act was reauthorized in December 2022 as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, established the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking and required a set of annual reports to Congress, two of which are included in this volume. The first report contains the most current data on underage alcohol use in the United States and a brief history and current information on federal prevention efforts. The second report details the production, broadcasting, and evaluation of “Talk. They Hear You.” the national adult-oriented media public service campaign required by the STOP Act.
Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking – Oregon State Profile, SAMHSA 2022 – PPT
This presentation describes some of the resources that have been developed under the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (STOP Act). The STOP Act requires an annual Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking. It also requires individual State Reports for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. And third, it requires an annual report on State Performance & Best Practices for the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking.
Alcohol Retail Marketing and Product Availability in Oregon – OHA, undated probably 2021
Prices, taxes and alcohol use – a systematic umbrella review, Addiction – 10 2021
Recent Alcoholic Beverage Industry Legislation (1943-2019) – Oregon Legislative Policy & Research Office, 2021
Alcohol Formative Audience Assessment Comprehensive Report, OHA April 2021 – 452 pages
In 2017, the Oregon Health Authority – Public Health Division (OHA-PHD) launched a formative audience assessment to better understand Oregonians’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviors around excessive alcohol use. OHA-PHD used the assessment to develop message concepts to educate the public about the harms of excessive alcohol use and to increase support for evidence-based strategies that reduce the harms of excessive alcohol use such as those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Community Preventive Services Task Force. A message concept serves as a broad guide for the tone, style, and development of a mass-media campaign developed to reach different audience segments. Together, the assessment and message concepts will support OHA-PHD’s communications strategy as part of a statewide, comprehensive approach to reduce and prevent excessive alcohol consumption in the state, which will likely include a statewide mass-media campaign.
Assessing Oregon’s Retail Environment – Shining Light on Alcohol Industry Tactics, OHA – slides for presentation, undated
Although the alcohol industry voluntarily regulates when it comes to marketing and advertising, self-regulation is not enough. Compared to the tobacco industry, the alcohol industry has more options and fewer restrictions to advertise and market its products across a range of locations and media.
Overall, the alcohol industry spends nearly 29% of its extensive marketing budget to promote alcohol sales in convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers. Increased exposure to alcohol marketing is shown to increase drinking, including among youth.
The bottom line is that marketing in the retail environment contributes to high rates of alcohol consumption.
HB 5006 (2021) requires Oregon Health Authority to provide a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Financial Analysis – the cost to the state of providing services to people with addiction. Some parts of the analysis will be finished in the Winter and Spring of 2024. A preliminary report is available here, see pages 13-21.
Alcohol Harms and Economic Burden in Oregon – Joel Ainsworth & Andrew Dyke, PhD – ECONorthwest at the 2021 Law & Mental Health Conference
The analysis of Ainsworth and Dyke synthesizes existing research and state-level data to quantify the economic burden of excessive alcohol use – not alcoholism – in Oregon.
The final report of Economic Analysis of Excessive Alcohol Consumption in Oregon – Eco Northwest, November 2021
Oregon Statewide Strategic Plan – 2020-2025, Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission
Oregonians experience one of the highest rates of substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) in the nation, and the personal and financial costs are enormous. On average, four Oregonians die every day from alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and countless more experience significant health and social problems. State spending on substance more than quadrupled since 2005—consuming nearly 17% of the entire state budget in 2017. Less than 1% of those funds, however, were used to prevent, treat, or help people recover from substance misuse. The majority of those dollars went to pay for escalating health and social consequences created by the lack of investment in prevention, treatment, and recovery.
The causes of substance misuse are complex and deeply rooted in an array of intertwined biological, social/cultural, and historical factors such as genetics, norms, trauma, and socio-economic inequity. Structural factors also play a significant role. These include laws and policies that facilitate access to psychoactive substances but penalize addiction; social norms that stigmatize addiction as a behavior choice rather than a medical condition that requires ongoing management and treatment; deeply divergent viewpoints of practitioners across primary care, public and behavioral health, criminal justice, and other professions; and deeply siloed efforts of agencies charged with addressing this public health crisis.
Questions answered by the Oregon Statewide Strategic Plan
- Who needs addiction treatment and recovery supports in Oregon?
- How will the plan ensure Oregon can identify those in need of addiction treatment and recovery supports and connect them to it?
- What kinds of addiction treatment and recovery supports are needed?
- How much will the needed scale of addiction prevention, addiction treatment, and recovery supports cost?
- How will funding for these services be secured?
- What needs to be done to eliminate health disparities due to addiction?
- How do we prevent addiction in the first place?
Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use – Annual Average for Oregon 2015-2019 by age, SAMHSA 2019 – XLS
Alcohol-Attributable Deaths Due to Excessive Alcohol Use – Annual Average for Oregon 2015-2019 by sex, SAMHSA 2019 – XLS
Estimates the total number of deaths attributable to alcohol.
Years of Potential Life Lost Due to Excessive Alcohol Use – Annual Average for Oregon 2015-2019 by age, SAMHSA 2019 – XLS
Years of Potential Life Lost Due to Excessive Alcohol Use – Annual Average for Oregon 2015-2019 by sex, SAMHSA 2019 – XLS
Estimates the total number of alcohol-related years of life lost resulting from premature death.
Analysis of Oregon’s Publicly Funded Substance Abuse Treatment System: Report and Findings for Senate Bill 1041 – September 2018
Senate Bill 1041 (2017) asked the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to study and report on the total public funds spent on substance abuse treatment, the outcomes received for that expenditure by type of treatment, and the effect of treatment outcomes on the criminal justice system. Public expenditures on substance abuse treatment focus primarily on the Medicaid (Oregon Health Plan) population that accounts for about a quarter of the insured population (about 1 million persons) in Oregon. Most Oregonians are covered by private insurance (65%), and data specific to alcohol and drug treatment are redacted from Oregon’s All Payer All Claims Database due to federal confidentiality laws, so very little is known about the expenditures or outcomes from the private sector. Absent this information, optimizing addiction treatment for all Oregonians will remain a challenge.
As discussed in the full report, Oregon ranks among the most challenged states in the nation for substance abuse and mental health problems, while at the same time ranking among the worst states for access and engagement with care. In 2017, Oregon ranked first in marijuana use and pain reliever misuse, second in methamphetamine use, and fourth in cocaine use nationally. The same year Oregon ranked fourth in both alcohol use disorders and substance use disorders. Also in 2017, Oregon had the second highest rate of mental illness and ranked third for needing but not receiving treatment for alcohol and illicit drugs, and fifteenth for receiving mental health services.
Employment impacts of alcohol taxes
Preventive Medicine – August 2017, authors Roy Wada, Frank J. Chaloupka, Lisa M. Powell, David H. Jernigan
There is strong scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of increasing alcohol taxes for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related problems. Opponents have argued that alcohol tax increases lead to job losses. However, there has been no comprehensive economic analysis of the impact of alcohol taxes on employment. To fill this gap, a regional macroeconomic simulation model was used to assess the net impact of two hypothetical alcohol tax increases (a 5-cent per drink excise tax increase and a 5% sales tax increase on beer, wine, and distilled spirits, respectively) on employment in Arkansas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
The model accounted for changes in alcohol demand, average state income, and substitution effects. The employment impact of spending the new tax revenue on general expenditures versus health care was also assessed.
Simulation results showed that a 5-cent per drink additional excise tax on alcoholic beverages with new tax revenues allocated to general expenditures increased net employment in Arkansas (802 jobs); Florida (4583 jobs); Massachusetts (978 jobs); New Mexico (653 jobs); and Wisconsin (1167 jobs). A 5% additional sales tax also increased employment in Arkansas (789 jobs; Florida (4493 jobs); Massachusetts (898 jobs); New Mexico (621 jobs); and Wisconsin (991 jobs). Using new alcohol tax revenues to fund health care services resulted in slightly lower net increases in state employment. The overall economic impact of alcohol tax increases cannot be fully assessed without accounting for the job gains resulting from additional tax revenues.
The Financial Impacts of Alcohol-Related Costs on Cities and Counties – April 2011 – Produced by the Association of Oregon Counties and the League of Oregon Cities
Cities and counties in Oregon are the principal providers of public safety and substance abuse treatment in the state. Performing duties to combat alcohol-related crimes and social problems requires large dedications of time and money. Yet restrictions on funds available to cities and counties seriously jeopardize the ability to meet the demands alcohol-related incidents place on their communities.