Liquor contract change could boost state
Changes to Maine's wholesale liquor sales contract are expected to bring additional revenue for state programs and the general fund.
A provision in the $6.1 billion biennial budget that begins today requires the state to renegotiate its existing liquor sales contract, which is held by Maine Beverage Co. and expires in 2014, by June 2013 with a $20 million upfront payment, and details how money from the contract will be distributed, according to Capitol News Service. Of the money allocated to the state under the new contract, 15% would be used for clean water programs, 20% for the highway preservation and rehabilitation paving program, 30% to the budget stabilization fund and 35% to the general fund. Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett told the news service that the contract's current value is "well over double" what the state received for it in 2004, in the range of $350-$400 million.
The state Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations ran the wholesale liquor distribution system until 2004, when the state awarded the 10-year contract to what's now called Maine Beverage Co.
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