Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0793 – Beer Excise Tax Revenue Redistribution Act
Bill Summary
House Bill 793 makes two targeted changes to Idaho’s beer excise tax framework. First, it amends Section 23-940 to explicitly route beer excise tax collections into the alcohol beverage control fund alongside existing license and transfer fees, clarifying the fund’s revenue sources. Second, it rewrites the distribution formula in Section 23-1008 for the 33% share of low-alcohol beer (≤5% ABV) tax revenue that previously flowed to the permanent building fund, redirecting it entirely to the Idaho State Police — with at least 60% of that share dedicated to the Idaho law enforcement fund for the Project Choice program (established under Section 49-454) and no more than 40% going to the alcohol beverage control fund.
For higher-alcohol beer (>5% ABV), the bill removes transitional language that had set different distribution percentages to the Idaho hop grower’s commission fund and the Idaho grape growers and wine producers account for fiscal years 2022, 2023, and 2024. With those years now past, the bill replaces the multi-year schedule with a single permanent rule: 5% of that revenue goes to the Idaho hop grower’s commission fund. This is a housekeeping change that codifies what was already the intended steady-state outcome.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, under an emergency declaration. Tax rates on beer are unchanged, and the existing 20% allocation to the substance abuse treatment fund from low-alcohol beer revenue and the 12% allocation from high-alcohol beer revenue remain intact.
Overall Assessment
This bill’s most consequential change is redirecting a 33% slice of low-alcohol beer excise tax revenue away from the permanent building fund and into Idaho State Police operations, with the majority earmarked for the Project Choice traffic safety program. Idaho hop growers and grape growers are unaffected in practice — the deleted language covered fiscal years 2022–2024 that have already elapsed, and the permanent 5% allocation to the hop grower’s commission fund is preserved. The bill does not alter any tax rates, create new taxes, or change the substance abuse treatment fund allocations.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. RESPONSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT (0)
The bill moves existing revenue between state funds without changing tax rates, reducing spending, or altering the size of government. The reallocation from the permanent building fund to Idaho State Police is an administrative redistribution, not a fiscal reform that reduces the cost of government or addresses budget discipline.
ARTICLE II. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT (0)
The bill concerns the internal routing of beer excise tax revenue among state agencies and funds. It has no bearing on civic engagement, electoral processes, voting methods, or public participation in government.
ARTICLE III. EDUCATION (0)
Beer excise tax revenue distribution has no connection to school funding, curriculum, parental rights in education, or any other education policy matter.
ARTICLE IV. AGRICULTURE (0)
The bill deletes the fiscal year 2022–2024 transitional distribution language for the Idaho hop grower's commission fund and the Idaho grape growers and wine producers account, but those years have already passed and the distributions already occurred. The permanent 5% allocation to the hop grower's commission fund is preserved in the revised text, leaving the ongoing funding relationship with Idaho's hop agriculture industry unchanged.
ARTICLE V. WATER (0)
The bill addresses beer excise tax revenue routing and has no connection to water rights, water appropriation, inter-basin transfers, or federal interference in water management.
ARTICLE VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT (0)
The bill's changes to alcohol tax revenue distribution have no bearing on natural resource policy, environmental regulation, or federal land management.
ARTICLE VII. ENERGY (0)
The bill makes no changes related to energy production, energy independence, utility rates, or any other energy policy matter.
ARTICLE VIII. IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORIES (0)
The bill concerns state alcohol beverage tax administration and has no connection to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or technology development.
ARTICLE IX. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS (0)
The bill reallocates government revenue between state funds and does not affect private property rights, eminent domain, regulatory takings, or due process protections for property owners.
ARTICLE X. STATE AND FEDERAL LANDS (0)
The bill makes no changes related to land ownership, land management authority, or the balance of state versus federal control over Idaho lands.
ARTICLE XI. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (0)
Beer excise tax revenue redistribution has no connection to fish and game management, hunting and fishing access, predator control, or any wildlife policy matter.
ARTICLE XII. ECONOMY (0)
The bill does not change tax rates on beer producers, wholesalers, or retailers, and imposes no new regulatory burdens on businesses. The reallocation of revenue between government funds does not alter the economic environment for Idaho commerce or industry.
ARTICLE XIII. HEALTH AND WELFARE (0)
The existing 20% allocation of low-alcohol beer tax revenue and 12% of high-alcohol beer tax revenue to the substance abuse treatment fund are unchanged by this bill — those provisions are existing law that the bill leaves intact. The bill makes no changes to healthcare delivery, insurance, or welfare programs.
ARTICLE XIV. AMERICAN FAMILY (0)
The bill addresses government fund accounting for beer excise taxes and has no connection to family policy, marriage, parental rights, or life issues.
ARTICLE XV. OLDER AMERICANS (0)
The bill makes no changes to programs, services, or policies affecting older Idahoans.
ARTICLE XVI. LAW AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE (0)
While the bill does direct beer excise tax revenue to Idaho State Police and the Project Choice traffic safety program under Section 49-454, this metric focuses on criminal justice principles such as presumption of innocence, proportional punishment, Second Amendment rights, and judicial integrity — areas the bill does not touch. The funding reallocation, though law-enforcement-adjacent, does not change criminal statutes, sentencing, or justice system procedures.
ARTICLE XVII. NATIONAL DEFENSE – SECURING THE BORDER (0)
The bill operates entirely within state alcohol beverage tax administration and has no connection to national defense, border security, military affairs, or veterans' issues.
ARTICLE XVIII. ELECTION OF JUDGES AND IDAHO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES (0)
The bill makes no changes related to judicial selection, judicial elections, constitutional interpretation, or the structure of Idaho's courts.
ARTICLE XIX. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (0)
The bill addresses beer excise tax revenue distribution and has no connection to religious freedom, conscience protections, or limitations on religious exercise.