A new analysis from Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot’s office predicts transferring regulation and enforcement of alcohol, tobacco and motor fuel laws from his purview to a new commission could cost the state about $50 million.
The expense would be spread out over a period of five years as the proposed new body builds an infrastructure for oversight, according to a report written by a policy analyst working in the comptroller’s office and released this week.
Meanwhile, the state lawmaker who proposed the change disputes the estimate and urged the public to take it “with a real grain of salt.”
The $50 million estimate comes in response to an effort to strip away some of Franchot’s oversight powers. The General Assembly is considering a bill that would create a five-member Alcohol, Tobacco and Motor Fuel Commission to oversee the Field Enforcement Division, a body traditionally housed within the comptroller’s office that investigates illegal manufacturing and sales of alcohol, tobacco and fuel.
The measure incorporates suggestions from a task force formed last legislative session by lawmakers concerned that Franchot faces a conflict of interest as an outspoken advocate for loosening restrictions on craft brewing in the state as well as the elected official charged with ensuring breweries follow the law.