After meeting with MADD officials and parents, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley backed off plans to sign a bill that would have allowed so-called alcopop drinks to continue to be taxed at the same rate as beer, the Baltimore Sun reported April 25.

After meeting with Charles Hurley, the national CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and two Maryland parents of children killed by drunk drivers, O'Malley said he had "a lot to think about" in regards to the alcopops bill. The alcohol industry and their allies in the state legislature had succeeded in pushing the bill to O'Malley's desk, but underage-drinking prevention advocates had urged him to veto the measure.

Critics say that alcopops appeal directly to teens and say that they should be taxed at the higher liquor rate, rather than as beer. The drinks often carry liquor branding like Smirnoff and Bacardi, and critics say the alcohol in the products is derived mainly from distillation, not brewing.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler recently ruled that alcopops should be treated and taxed like liquor ($1.50 per gallon), not beer (9 cents per gallon), and called on O'Malley to veto the measure. "There is no gray area here," Gansler said. "The alcohol industry itself will say they're targeting entry-level drinkers with these drinks ... This is what kids are drinking. This is what kids can buy."

But the bill to keep treating alcopops like beer passed the Maryland House 96-40 and the Senate 36-10. O'Malley, who has taken $230,000 in campaign donations from the liquor industry over the past decade, previously announced that he would sign the measure into law.

The bill has been the alcohol industry's top legislative priority in Maryland this year. "This is about maintaining the status quo of flavored beer the way it has been for the past 40 years in Maryland," said Gary Galanis, a spokesperson for Diageo North America.