The Kentucky General Assembly passed and sent to the governor a bill that phases out the state's bourbon barrel tax over 20 years.

The Kentucky Distillers Association applauded the passage, calling the measure a "common-sense compromise" that protects funding for "schools, fire departments and EMS districts while giving local governments 20 years to plan and diversify their tax bases instead of relying on the ups and downs of a singular industry."

Distillers are protected against an astronomical 525% hike in barrel tax revenue, KDA said, which "would have forced them to make tough business decisions on where to grow." Even with this relief, distilling remains Kentucky’s highest taxed industry, paying $286 million in taxes each year.