Virginia Code 4.1-128: Local ordinances or resolutions regulating or taxing alcoholic beverages
A. No county, city, or town shall, except as provided in § 4.1-205 or 4.1-129, adopt any ordinance or resolution which regulates or prohibits the manufacture, bottling, possession, sale, wholesale distribution, handling, transportation, drinking, use, advertising or dispensing of alcoholic beverages in the Commonwealth. Nor shall any county, city, or town adopt an ordinance or resolution that prohibits or regulates the storage, warehousing, and wholesaling of wine in accordance with Title 4.1, regulations of the Board, and federal law at a licensed farm winery.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 4.1-128
- Alcoholic beverages: includes alcohol, spirits, wine, and beer, and any one or more of such varieties containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including mixed alcoholic beverages, and every liquid or solid, powder or crystal, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and capable of being consumed by a human being. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Authority: means the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority created pursuant to this subtitle. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Board: means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- Farm winery: means (i) an establishment or cooperative located in the Commonwealth on land zoned agricultural that has (a) a vineyard, orchard, or similar growing area that produces fruits or other agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery, subject to the requirements set forth in § 4. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
- Licensed: means the holding of a valid license granted by the Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
- Wine: includes any wine to which wine spirits have been added, as provided in the Internal Revenue Code, to make products commonly known as "fortified wine" which do not exceed an alcohol content of 21 percent by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
No provision of law, general or special, shall be construed to authorize any county, city or town to adopt any ordinance or resolution that imposes a sales or excise tax on alcoholic beverages, other than the taxes authorized by § 58.1-605, 58.1-3833 or 58.1-3840. The foregoing limitation shall not affect the authority of any county, city or town to impose a license or privilege tax or fee on a business engaged in whole or in part in the sale of alcoholic beverages if the license or privilege tax or fee (i) is based on an annual or per event flat fee specifically authorized by general law or (ii) is an annual license or privilege tax specifically authorized by general law, which includes alcoholic beverages in its taxable measure and treats alcoholic beverages the same as if they were nonalcoholic beverages.
B. However, the governing body of any county, city, or town may adopt an ordinance that (i) prohibits the acts described in subsection A of § 4.1-308 subject to the provisions of subsections B and E of § 4.1-308, or the acts described in § 4.1-309, and may provide a penalty for violation thereof and (ii) subject to subsection C of § 4.1-308, regulates or prohibits the possession of opened alcoholic beverage containers in its local public parks, playgrounds, public streets, and any sidewalk adjoining any public street.
C. Except as provided in this section, all local acts, including charter provisions and ordinances of cities and towns, inconsistent with any of the provisions of this subtitle, are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
Code 1950, § 4-98; 1983, c. 340; 1993, c. 866; 2000, cc. 381, 450; 2007, cc. 140, 454; 2015, cc. 38, 730; 2017, cc. 157, 492.