Hundreds Rally at City Hall for San Francisco “Charge for Harm” Alcohol Mitigation Fee

About 200 souls rallied on the steps of City Hall this A.M. to support the “Charge for Harm” alcohol mitiation fee program.

The mise-en-scene this morning at City Hall. Can you see all the “Charge for Harm” baseball caps?

Click to expand

George Clooney-esque District 11 Supervisor John Avalos was the star of the event. He said he was “close” to getting a veto-proof majority for this legislation.

But what’s this? There was a whole crew on hand, people like Guy Carson of Cafe du Nord…

…talking to TV reporters about how the whole idea is a “job killer.”

Get all the deets on this controversy at the Uptown Almanac.

Anyway, the Marin Institute is pushing for a similar plan for all of California. Count them in the “pro-fee” camp.

And now, see what the anti-fee people, the California Alliance for Hospitality Jobs, have to say about all this, after the jump.

MEDIA ADVISORY
 

Hospitality Workers “Eighty Six” Charge for Harm Ordinance
 

Representatives of local businesses rally in opposition of SF’s proposed alcohol mitigation fee
 

SAN FRANCISCO (August 3, 2010)
County of San Francisco; local restaurant owners, bartenders and retail outlets are coming together for
tomorrow’s rally and the Budget & Finance Committee meeting to voice their opposition to the City’s proposed

alcohol mitigation fee.

San Francisco small business owners already pay more than their fair share to help fund San Francisco’s

generous public health and employment benefits – with sick leave requirements, Healthy San Francisco levies

and a higher minimum wage than surrounding counties. If this fee is passed, local hospitality jobs will be

impacted. This proposal is being made at a time when San Francisco’s restaurant and hospitality industries are

already reeling from declining sales and the number of vacant storefronts continues to rise.

– Already nickeled and dimed by countless fees assessed by the City and

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public service infrastructure and would receive no services…Supervisor Avalos’ “mitigation fee” is really
a tax.

Since more than 90% of adults who drink do not abuse alcohol, they impose no cost on San Francisco’s

•
more than double the tax rate than the rest of California.
While $0.076 per ounce does not sound like much, in reality it will mean that San Franciscans will pay

•
customer level. As the tax migrates through distribution channels, the extra cost is passed on and
marked-up at each level. Ultimately, consumers will pay significantly more than a “nickel-a-drink” with

this new “fee.”

A “nickel-a-drink” at the wholesale level does not translate to the same amount at the consumer or

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has merit. Unfortunately, it fails to credit the monetary benefits to San Francisco that alcohol sales have
on the City’s finances and the impact that San Francisco’s restaurants, bars and hotels have on

attracting out-of-City individuals to spend their money in San Francisco.

Representatives from the California Alliance for Hospitality Jobs (CAHJ) will be available for comment

immediately following the Pro-Tax rally supporting this questionable proposal:

The Nexus Study is supposed to analyze the proposed “fee” to determine if Supervisor Avalos’ proposal

WHEN: Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Immediately Following Scheduled 10:00 am Rally
WHERE: San Francisco City Hall -

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102

Polk Street Steps
WHO: Peter DeMarco, California Alliance for Hospitality Jobs
 

 
 

 
, Thirsty Bear, Brewmaster-Managing Member Roger Cline, Deco Lounge, Manager Tom Coulter, Glen Park Station, Owner Craig Wathen, City Beer Store

Colin O’Malley, John Colins *invited to attendSilberstein*RonMembers of the media not attending the event may also call Kassy Perry at (916) 296-8303 or Peter
DeMarco at (916) 600-2244 for comment.
About the CAHJ

 

The California Alliance for Hospitality Jobs (CAHJ) is a coalition of employers, suppliers, restaurateurs, business
owners, trade associations and citizens who work in and with the hospitality industry and are concerned about
proposals at the federal, state and local levels to raise alcohol taxes and fees. The alliance is supported by

Diageo. Visit

www.savemycajob.com to learn more.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 at 3:34 pm and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Hundreds Rally at City Hall for San Francisco “Charge for Harm” Alcohol Mitigation Fee”

  1. Peter says:
    August 4, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    “to help cover the costs of alcohol related health care”… sounds like this could be the next B2B sponsor.