When the cash-strapped city of Pittsburgh sought a 10 percent tax on alcoholic drinks four years ago, local bar and restaurant owners rallied to block it.

Now Allegheny County could come looking for that 10 percent.

A proposed state Senate transportation funding bill designed to help the cash-strapped Port Authority would allow Allegheny County officials to raise taxes on poured alcoholic drinks up to 10 percent, as well as add a $2 tax on rental cars.

The bill still needs approval by the full Senate before being sent back to the House.

If approved, it would be up to the county to decide if a tax, and how much of a tax, would follow. But with the battle against the city still fresh in their minds, restaurant and bar owners are already sounding the alarm.

"This is the biggest threat my industry has ever faced in this region," said Kevin Joyce, owner of The Carlton, chairman of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association, and one of the leading opponents to the city proposal in 2003.

With a 10 percent tax, he said, diners "may choose wines that are not as expensive, or they may not have that second cocktail. The margins are so tight in this business, and the competition is so keen, there is no question but that this will put some people out of business."

It might also prevent new restaurant business, said Patrick Conway, CEO of the state restaurant association. "If a national chain is looking at putting a restaurant in Western Pennsylvania, they're certainly going to look at things like a drink tax. Convention planners are going to look at that, too."

Not so fast, countered state Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill.

"It's not imposing a tax. This is enabling legislation," said Mr. Frankel. "We need to provide alternatives for county government to be able to raise revenue to support the county effort on transportation."

Right now, the only means of raising that money is to increase property taxes, he said, and "the property tax is the last thing we want to raise."

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said: "My commitment to the public is that we're going to fix the cost structure at the Port Authority first" before pushing for any new taxes.

Mr. Onorato said that other urban counties, including Philadelphia, have per-drink, car rental and other taxes available to come up with required matching funds for their transit systems.

He wants Allegheny County to have a similar menu of items as other cities when it goes looking for the $25 million it needs in matching funds. Combining a 10 percent drink tax with a rental car tax, total expected revenue would come to about $38 million.

County Council President Rich Fitzgerald cautioned against assuming that a 10 percent tax is imminent or inevitable. If the bill passes, the possible tax would be considered in the mix of the normal budgeting process next fall, with public hearings "just like we did with the smoking bill."

If the county adopted an alcohol tax it would not necessarily be the full 10 percent. The key point, he emphasized, is that it would be up to the county, rather than the Legislature. Those who oppose it "don't want Allegheny County to be a home rule county. That's what it sounds like."