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Politics & Government

Know Your ABCs

As Del. Mark Keam prepares a community forum on the topic this morning, a look at the governor's proposal for liquor privatization

In what he called "a creative plan that puts major new funding into transportation without tax increases," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is pushing for the commonwealth to join the 32 other states that have chosen to privatize distribution and sale of all alcoholic products.

According to McDonnell's plan, the sale of 1000 retail and wholesale licenses would generate a one-time windfall of $500 million. This combined with the sale of ABC property assets will be placed into a Virginia transportation infrastructure bank, which would be controlled by the state. This bank would grant and loan funding to projects involving congestion relief and economic development, according to McDonnell's Sept. 9 Richmond-Times Dispatch editorial.

Besides the boost from these sales, more customers stateside could bring in more revenue: According to www.vatrafficrelief.com, a website created to bolster support for the privatization effort, Virginia is losing 20 percent of spirits sales to D.C. and Maryland, where liquor stores are already privately owned.

While 1000 licenses is quite a leap from the 332 ABC stores currently operating,
vatrafficrelief.com states "the majority of 'new outlets' (anything above the current 332 outlets) will be in existing stores that sell wine and/or beer."

The geography of those stores would not change much either. According to vatrafficrelief.com, ABC would still approve the location of all retail licenses, while localities would still control zoning requirements and could object to the issuance of a license. Advertising regulations will be maintained through ABC, which would be focusing on regulation and law enforcement, should privatization become a reality.

Several groups have offered their support for ABC privatization as part of a comprehensive transportation solution, including the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who in a press release assured research has shown "there is no greater incidence of alcohol-related problems in states with private ownership of liquor stores than in states with government ownership."

Alcohol-related problems are of concern to some opponents of privatization. The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors, for example, disapproves of the proposal, primarily because "the plan relies on more consumption of spirits to raise state funds."

The Board of Supervisors cited a study produced by the California-based Marin Institute that stated privatizing liquor sales would increase the number of alcohol-related problems. Members are also against liquor being sold in stores frequented by minors, such as grocery stores.

Other opponents include religious groups and a growing number of Republican legislators.

According to a poll conducted by Frederick Polls and Public Opinion Strategies for a coalition led by big retailers, 35 percent of voters oppose privatization, including about 20 percent who strongly oppose it. These findings prompted Democrats to call for a voter referendum on the issue.

Delegate Joe Morrissey, D-Henrico, has said ABC privatization is too risky and would not work. He said a 10 cent tax on gasoline would raise the money to fund transportation solutions by producing $500 million a year, and the small increase would go unnoticed by consumers.

Del. Mark Keam's community forum from 10 a.m. to noon today at Town Hall will focus on public input about the governor's plan.

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