Both houses of the Virginia state legislature are considering bills which would allow the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control to operate outside of government authority. The new organization would be called the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority.
Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, proposed House bill 1776 currently under consideration, which would replace ABC with the new authority.
“This bill basically does two things: transforms ABC into an authority and allows it to operate outside of government regulations,” Albo said.
ABC is currently a department of the Virginia state government and controls the possession, sale, transportation and delivery of alcoholic beverages within the state. The department also establishes and operates stores for the sale of distilled spirits.
Albo said he would like to see ABC operating more like a business.
“Government agencies have to follow certain procurement rules,” he said. “It’s really hard to run a [shelf] business when you can’t go out and buy shelves when you need them. Instead it takes six months to procure [products].”
Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, sponsored Senate bill 1032, also currently under consideration. McDougle said the changes proposed in the bill would similarly allow ABC to operate like a business as opposed to a government agency.
“We hope to enable ABC to do things a business would do to increase profits and have better customer service,” McDougle said. “[These changes] will enable ABC to be managed and operated more like a business instead of a strictly governmental entity.”
An independent authority could also more readily fire employees who are not performing up to standards, Albo said.
“Government employees have more rights than regular employees, so it takes longer to fire under-performers,” he said.
McDougle said the change allows for more flexibility in employment without sacrificing the rights of employees.
“Employees [of ABC] will still be able to work and they’ll still have certain rights, but [ABC] will have some flexibility in the hiring and firing process,” said McDougle.
Albo also said the new system will be more cost efficient.
“ABC is going to save a lot of money on procurement services,” Albo said. “They also won’t have to use the state computer system. We expect ABC to be able to raise more money by operating more efficiently, and then that money goes to the General Assembly fund.
Although the ABC Authority would be independent of the state, its profits would still benefit the Virginia government. The General Assembly fund contributes to departments such as education, transportation, law enforcement and public health and safety.
If the bills pass, the state government will not require ABC to follow as many constraints as it has in the past, McDougle said.
“[These changes] will free ABC of some of the bureaucratic constraints it operates under today,” McDougle said.
Currently, ABC is governed by three board members appointed by the governor. The proposed bill would change ABC board member selection processes. For example, commissioners will now require a business degree. The Senate bill would require the same stipulations.
“There will still be a board and a director,” McDougle said. “We’ll stagger appointments so that there’s continuity of leadership on the board [that] will expand past the governor’s term of office.”
If the bills pass, they are set to be implemented in 2018.
Albo said the new governor and board will help to smoothly transition into the new system.
“All the employees, rules, and regulations will transfer over,” Albo said. “Not much implementation will be needed.”
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