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HB 1018 seeks to make powdered alcohol an "illicit beverage" and illegal to manufacture, import, sell, or possess for the purpose of sale. HB 1018 is not attempting to regulate powdered alcohol like we regulate liquid alcohol.
Making powdered alcohol an illicit beverage will not prevent it from getting into the hands of children nor will it keep the product out of Texas. It should not go without notice that prohibition of alcohol has already been tried and it didn't work. To prohibit powdered alcohol would simply serve as a protectionist measure to benefit the economic interests of the existing alcohol industry.
HB 1018 would undermine the individual liberty and personal responsibility of who have the right to drink and possess alcohol and who wish to responsibly consume alcoholic beverages.
Rather than cater to the special interests of the existing players in the alcohol industry by banning the competition, we encourage the legislature to simply amend this legislation to stipulate that powdered alcohol is subject to the same regulations as liquor. This would mean it could only be sold in the same types of stores, and under the same regulatory conditions, as other liquors that are already commonly sold in Texas. This would maintain a level playing field for existing businesses and new entrants into the market.
Absent such an amendment, we recommend legislators reject this legislation which is antithetical to free market and limited government principles.