The Brewers Association (BA) is celebrating today as New Mexico Senate Bill (SB) 378, a bill that would have increased the excise tax on beer sold in the state up to 49 cents per gallon, was vetoed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

The long and arduous stakeholder process on SB 378 took the bill through multiple iterations, eventually reduced to a slightly lower excise tax rate for locally brewed beer. Even that rate represented a significant tax hike and also harmed out-of-state craft brewers. In the end, the tax increase was incorporated into House Bill 14, an omnibus update to the tax code. That bill passed all committees, both chambers, and landed on the Governor’s desk where she heard opposition from the New Mexico Brewers Guild, the BA, and other stakeholders, subsequently vetoing the entire package.

This bill, or similar iterations, has been introduced by anti-alcohol activists in nearly every legislative session in the state since 2012, and we expect a similar bill to return in the next full session in 2027. In that session, there will be a new Governor in place, so the BA intends to remain vigilant in the Land of Enchantment.