BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The alcohol tax did not pass the House Friday afternoon with only 64 yeas and 33 nays.

HB 27, which was authored by Rep. Kenny Cox, D-Natchitoches, would have increased the excise tax levied on certain alcoholic beverages.

The bill failed to get the required 70 votes in order to pass. If it had passed, it would have added $6.7 million to fill the current fiscal year’s budget shortfall.

In a press conference late Friday morning, Governor Edwards re-enforced the idea that his proposed alcohol tax would not cause a major increase in costs to consumers, saying the tax would equate to “three quarters of a penny on a can of beer.”

Taxes on most types of alcohol have not been raised since the 1940s.