By Phil Boykin, VBWA President & CEO The General Assembly [...]
The 2024 General Assembly Session gaveled in this week for [...]
Analysis by Phil Boykin, President and CEO, Virginia Beer Wholesalers [...]
Fifty beer distributor leaders representing 15 wholesalers statewide spent Thursday morning at the Virginia General Assembly to advocate for a series of bills that support the three tier system, grow craft breweries, create jobs, and protect public safety.
This is the last full week of session, so it’s pretty intense at the state Capitol. Budget negotiators have been appointed and have started the process of negotiating a state budget, and the Governor’s proposed tax cuts are a key sticking point. Most committees met for a final time last week, so this week is focused on working out conference reports for bills where there wasn’t agreement, budget negotiations, and electing judges.
It's been a busy week with both the House and Senate getting to work. As expected, both parties highlighted issues of importance to their respective bases with the House GOP passing the Gov's $1 Billion tax cut, passing "election integrity" bills and killing all the Democrats gun control bills. In the Senate, the Democratic majority killed all GOP drafted bills restricting abortions, passed a constitutional amendment protecting gay marriage and put the Gov's tax cuts on life support. There were really no surprises by most political observers. We can expect more of the same next week as it's the last full week before the legislature hits the critical "crossover" deadline on Feb. 7th.
The 2023 General Assembly Session has wrapped up the second week of its "short" 45-day session.
Overall it was a very good week for bills that could impact the Three-Tier system - a key one was defeated and another, to allow for limited distribution by breweries, is moving accordingly. Listed below are highlights of those bills of interest to our industry. Should you want more details, you can go directly to the bill summary, history, and text by clicking the bill number.
The 2023 General Assembly Session gaveled in this week on Wednesday, January 11, for a "short" 46 day session...
As we reach the end of an eventful General Assembly session, I am proud of the work our Board and members have done to promote our industry’s interests at the Capitol. Your efforts and support helped us play a part in promoting some bills, making the case for more study for others, and playing a role in defeating legislation that would have harmed our members and run counter to the Three Tier System ...
