Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is retooling his proposal to privatize Virginia’s state-run liquor stores with help from an outside financial management company.
Public Financial Management, Inc. will help analyze the state’s privatization options under a $76,900 contract.
One option the firm is examining is privatizing just the retail side of the system through a license-based system — similar to part of McDonnell’s original proposal — while allowing the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to remain the wholesaler of distilled spirits.
McDonnell’s plan to privatize both the retail and wholesale side of Virginia’s state-run liquor stores, unveiled in September, caught flak from Republican and Democratic lawmakers after modifications showed it would leave a $47 million hole in the state budget.
PFM will deliver an interim report to McDonnell by Dec. 1 and a final report in January, according to the company’s proposal. McDonnell said he plans to introduce legislation on the first day of the regular General Assembly Session, which begins on Jan. 12.
The governor has made privatizing the state-run liquor stores to raise money for transportation a priority of his first year in office. He originally pushed for a special session sometime in November to consider his plan along with other proposals to modify the state’s government. But lawmakers were skeptical of the privatization plan, which McDonnell said would provide a one-time cash infusion of about $500 million.
He abandoned the idea of a special session last month, saying that he would instead argue his case during the regular session. After that announcement, Speaker of the House of Delegates William Howell, R-Stafford, broached the idea of convening a group of lawmakers, wholesalers, distillers, retailers and interested parties to work on a bill to consider in the regular session.
Regardless of potential tweaks to the plan, it could still run into opposition from the Democratic-controlled state Senate. Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, has remained skeptical over prospects for its passage through the upper chamber.
