This week has been another busy one for committee action as the House and Senate work to complete their dockets before Tuesday, February 15, or the critical “Crossover” deadline. “Crossover” is the last day of the Session where, excluding the budget, a bill can be considered within the chamber of origination.
Also of note, the money committees responsible for the Budget Bill must complete their work by midnight, Sunday, February 20. We will review this important document for items of interest and keep you posted. As a reminder, this is the “long” Session year with Sine Die ajdournment schedule for Saturday, March 12.
As usual during Session, we are meeting weekly with the VBWA Board of Directors to review bills and receive advice on strategy to determine VBWA’s adopted positions. Listed below are highlights of those of interest introduced to-date. Should you want more details, you can go directly to the bill summary, bill history and bill text by clicking the bill number below.
Virginia Wine Distribution Company Study
HB1336 (Robinson)
Latest: The bill was heard in the House ABC Subcommittee and full General Laws Committee this week and reported unamended from both. It will be on the House floor next week. Let us know if you have any questions or want to discuss.
Background: The Virginia Craft Brewers Guild attempted introduce legislation that would have allowed craft breweries to sell their beer through the Virginia Wine Distribution Company (VWDC). The VWDC is a program run by the Department of Agriculture that allows farm wineries access to the market without going through a traditional wine distributor. It has a Board consisting of wineries and wine distributors, limits on volume, and operates at a deficit — and therefore, requires an annual state appropriation. It’s operated by the Department of Agriculture because it’s a way to support wineries, which are agricultural businesses. While the VBWA has long committed to having a conversation about including beer in the VWDC, we did not support the proposed legislation or approach that the Guild was attempting to take.
What we did support was legislation that requires the Department of Agriculture to study both if and how beer should be included in the program, as well as other aspects of the craft beer market. As introduced, the VBWA supports the alternative bill and looks forward to working on the issue over the summer.
Cross-Tier Employment
HB464 (Bulova)
Latest: Del. Bulova asked that his bill be “tabled” this week, effectively killing the measure. In consideration for him agreeing to table his own bill, ABC has agreed to review the existing regulations related to hiring this coming Summer for possible updates. The VBWA will be part of the regulatory review, so distributors will be engaged in the process. Standby over the Summer as things develop.
Background: As most in the service industry, craft brewers are having difficulty finding and retaining quality employees. They claim the ABC regulation that prohibits a retailer from employing a brewery employee if that retail account sells that brewery’s beer is complicating their efforts to find employees and asked Del. Bulova to introduce legislation overturning the long-standing regulation. The Guild told Bulova that there was “peace in the valley…” when they approached him to carry the bill, so he was surprised by the overwhelming opposition to his bill. In addition to the VBWA, the VWWA, ABI and MolsonCoors have come out in opposition with the various retailer groups being neutral. We thank our distributor members who have reached out to legislators in opposition to this bill. The VBWA has been working with Del. Bulova, ABC, and other stakeholders on language for the letter requesting that ABC to review the current regulations.
Cocktails-to-Go
HB426 (Bulova) & SB254 (Bell)
Latest: Both bills passed their respective chambers with broad support and will likely be on a fast track to the Governor after “crossover” for his approval.
Background: As COVID raged and restaurants were shut down, then-Gov. Ralph Northam loosened restrictions on “alcohol-to-go” for spirits by Executive Order to offer retailers a lifeline. The 2021 General Assembly allowed for that policy to continue on a temporary basis when the Executive Order expired and agreed to study making the policy permanent. The VBWA was part of the workgroup that studied the issue over the past year. That workgroup proposed extending the current “cocktails-to-go” policy for two more years so we can fully evaluate what the unintended consequences the policy may have on public health.
Craft Distilleries
HB300 (Freitas), HB387 (Freitas), SB65 (Ruff)
Latest: The patron offered amendments to his bill in an attempt to address concerns brought forward by ABC and there was a brief hearing. ABC continued to express concerns with the legislation as amended and the subcommittee voted to “carry over” the bill until the 2023 session. This effectively ends debate for the remainder of the 2022 session.
Background: There are several bills being proposed by craft distillers that are of concern. The most troublesome of the bills, which would have allowed direct shipments by distilleries, was defeated two weeks ago; however, there was an attempt by the patron to bring the bill back this week. The VBWA is closely tracking the remaining bills and weighing in when appropriate.
Dram Shop
HB984 (Runion), SB230 (Hanger) & SB555 (Obenshain)
Latest: The House version has been referred to Courts subcommittee, though it’s not decided if it will have a hearing before the critical crossover deadline. Stay tuned.
Background: Several “Dram Shop” bills have been introduced as a result of some recent high-profile underage DUI incidents. Dram Shop is a legal principle that exists in a majority of states across the nation that assigns civil liability to a retailer for actions taken by their patrons. That liability does not extend to the wholesale or manufacturing tier except in instances where they have retail privileges. The VBWA is closely tracking these bills; however, our Board decided to remain neutral as long as liability does not extend to the wholesaler. The legacy breweries are taking a similar position. Both Senate bills were defeated in Senate Courts last week on a bi-partisan vote.
New ABC Licensing Privileges
HB455 (Knight) & SB519 (Lucas)
Latest: Both bills passed their respective chambers with broad support and will likely be on a fast track to the Governor after “crossover” for his approval.
Background: Casinos are now legal in Virginia and preparing to open in the months ahead. As such, they’ve been working with the broader ABC community to develop a customized ABC license that makes sense for how they operate. Del. Barry Knight and Sen. Louise Lucas have led those efforts and put in bills establishing a casino ABC license, which the VBWA supports. Both bills were reported from Committee last week.
Marijuana
Background: There were over a dozen bills introduced impacting how the Commonwealth will move forward with cannabis sales. We are monitoring all the bills as they make their way through the process and will report anything that could impact beer distributors.
