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Subcommittee clears amendment to let ABC sell accessory items and permit employee‑run tastings
Summary
HB 385 (reported as amended, 8‑1) updates code to align with recent ABC regulations, clarifies retail items ABC may sell, and authorizes Virginia ABC employees (not manufacturers' agents) to conduct tastings, with committee Q&A about permitted products.
Speaker 11 presented HB 385 and offered two line amendments to align the Code with recent Virginia ABC regulations. The first amendment removes a phrase about "commercial culinary" to reflect the agency's regulatory update; the second narrows who may conduct tastings to ABC employees rather than manufacturers' agents.
Tanya Hux Watkins, acting general counsel for Virginia ABC, told the subcommittee the changes make explicit that ABC may sell items associated with distilled spirits (examples cited include bar shakers, glassware and garnishes such as maraschino cherries) and allow ABC employees to conduct tastings in ABC stores. Member Douglas Price asked follow‑up questions about how tastings work and what products would be used; Watkins gave examples and said the statutory clarity aligns with prior stakeholder engagement.
The subcommittee moved to report HB 385 as amended; the clerk recorded a roll call and the bill was reported as amended by a vote of 8 to 1.
