CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The price of beer has a good chance of increasing this year if lawmakers can get a proposed tax hike to Gov. Joe Manchin's desk.



Manchin won't veto a higher tax on suds, spokesman Matt Turner said Monday, but getting lawmakers to raise the price of such a popular product during an election year could be a challenge for the bill's supporters.



Delegate Bill Hamilton introduced legislation Monday that he says is one of several planned attempts to fund substance abuse treatment and prevention by raising taxes on alcohol.



Monday's bill is the pricier of two the Upshur County Republican has proposed so far. Both would raise the beer tax, which has remained at $5.50 per barrel since 1966.



The latest bill would increase that to $22, or by four cents per bottle or can. The other beer tax bill, reintroduced Feb. 1 from last year's session, would add a penny to the price of each bottle or can by hiking the tax to $11 per barrel.



"We will be looking at wine and liquor, but you can't put them all in the same bill because they're different parts of the state code," Hamilton said.



Hamilton said treatment programs need stable annual funding, instead of one-time money from settlements reached in lawsuits filed by the attorney general against prescription drug makers and similar sources.



"You've got to have a continuing source to fund these programs," he said.