­­The committee discussed two bills Monday that would regulate the sale of powdered alcohol in Texas. If the bills pass, Texas could become the first state to do so [Wisconsin is also considering similar legislation].
One of the House bill’s authors, state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, told The Texas Tribune he filed House Bill 47 because he was concerned about the dangers powdered alcohol posed to kids. Since powdered alcohol is a relatively new product, it is not explicitly regulated — or prohibited — under state law.
Chris Porter, spokesman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said powdered alcohol products haven’t appeared in Texas market yet, but he agreed that his agency doesn’t have the authority to regulate it under current law.
“We will continue defer to our state lawmakers and the legislative process on these issues and will do our part to enforce any new laws passed during the legislative session,” Porter said.
House Bill 47 would amend the definition of an alcoholic beverage to include powdered alcohol, ban the possession and purchase of the product by minors and tax and regulate powdered alcohol the same way as traditional liquid liquor. Guillen’s bill would also give TABC the authority to regulate powdered alcohol.
Nicole Holt, CEO of Texans Standing Tall, a statewide coalition that works to support healthier and safer communities for kids, encouraged legislators to issue an outright ban on powdered alcohol, arguing it could be used in dangerous ways.
“The fact that you can eat it or snort it is dangerous,” Holt said. “Our concern is that you then take a product that is already dangerous and you make it even easier for kids to consume at larger quantities and a larger rate.”
An Arizona man who developed his own brand of powdered alcohol — Palcohol — because he wanted an easier way to drink while “hiking, biking, camping and kayaking,” according to the product’s website, got his brand labels approved by the U.S. Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in March 2015. That allows the company to make Palcohol commercially available, though it’s still not available for purchase.
State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the upper chamber’s author of a similar powdered alcohol regulatory measure this session, said he doesn’t want to ban powdered alcohol because “prohibition doesn’t work.”
“I think if those other 34 states think that a ban works, then why don't they ban all alcohol? I think just as a matter of reality we should regulate and tax it,” Seliger told the Tribune on Tuesday. “I just think it's alcohol in another form."