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ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The last time the state of Maryland raised its tax on liquor, Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House.

And to date, Maryland has maintained one of the lowest tax rates on alcoholic beverages in the country but that all may be about to change.

Members of the State Senate and House of Delegates have announced plans to introduce legislation to boost Maryland's tax on alcohol by about five cents per drink. The money would be used to support individuals with developmental disabilities and alcohol or drug addiction.

Last week, the Gonzales Research Group came out with a new poll to measure the public support for an alcohol tax increase in Maryland. The result showed that 83 percent of residents support the tax hike.

That compares to 60 percent who backed the idea in 2006.

The uptick in public support and the state's need to raise additional revenue have made advocates optimistic that 2010 could be the year for an alcohol tax increase. And it will be needed.

The state faces an estimated $2 billion budget shortfall when lawmakers return to Annapolis in January and they'll be looking for untapped sources of revenue.

And it seems local bars aren't even opposed to the idea. Erin Masters, general manager of the Stained Glass Pub in Silver Spring, says business has been booming since the recession hit, and a five-cent tax increase wouldn't do her business much harm.

"A lot of people are drinking their sorrows away," she said.

And some of the most generous patrons of the pub said they'd stomach as much as a $2 increase, so long as it went to the right cause.

"Five cents would be the minimum I'd want to offer -- you made it $2, I'd be OK with it," said Bruce Wood of Silver Spring.

But others considered the proposal to be just another way for the government to waste money.

"You're going at one certain area of people that have already been taxed enough," said Hunter Sher of Silver Spring.

Sources say the tax increase would raise an upward of $80 billion per year to support individuals with developmental disabilities and drug or alcohol addiction.

Nineteen-thousand Maryland residents are on the government wait list for these services.

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