Baltimore Bottle Tax: Not Dead YET.........

Baltimore City Council moments ago reached a tie vote on a proposed four-cent-a-bottle tax on bottled/canned beverages in Baltimore.  According to news reports, it's still possible for the Council to modify the bill for another vote, but at this point it's still dead.

The 15-member council split 7-7 on the measure, which was backed by mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake but opposed by beverage distributors and store owners, who lobbied with an advertising campaign against the measure.. Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, whose cousin is a lobbyist for a beverage distributor, abstained from the vote.

And, of course, the Mayor's office released a statement moments later on what city services would be reduced or cut--trash pick-up, street cleaning, etc.

More to come...........