Maryland’s powerful liquor lobby is on track to achieve virtually all of its legislative priorities during this General Assembly session – despite opposition from the attorney general, the comptroller, public health advocates and hundreds of consumers.

Legislators shot down Internet wine sales, which are legal in most of the country. They are poised to expand the definition of beer to include such items as Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktail, allowing wider distribution and lower taxes for such drinks. When they crafted a bill to outlaw slot machine-like devices, they left out the kind that proliferates in Baltimore bars. And despite the state’s budget problems, they are likely to leave the liquor tax rate right where it has been since 1955.

Such decisions have a big impact on Marylanders, who can’t join a wine-of-the-month club or, in most cases, pick up a six-pack at the grocery store because of industry lobbying to maintain a strict set of regulations. The result: limited competition and limited choice, consumer advocates say.

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