PRIVATE LIQUOR STORE BILL CAPPED SPONSOR CITES LACK OF SPECIFICS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992                   TAG: 9202060297
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
PRIVATE LIQUOR STORE BILL CAPPED SPONSOR CITES LACK OF SPECIFICS
A proposal for a pilot program of privately owned liquor stores in Virginia will be withdrawn Friday in a state Senate committee, its chief sponsor, Sen. Clarence Holland, D-Virginia Beach, said Wednesday.
Backed by Gov. Douglas Wilder, Holland introduced legislation last month that would have authorized establishing five privately owned stores by the end of the year. Since 1934, the only legal package stores in Virginia have been run by the state.
But Holland said he will ask permission from the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee to withdraw his bill in favor of a yearlong study.
The $200,000 study, which would be conducted by a yet-to-be-named private consulting group, would be paid for by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which regulates state liquor sales.
Holland said he and the ABC Board lacked time this year to put forth a specific proposal for running a pilot program. "There were a lot of questions we were unable to answer, such as where would the pilot stores be located, who would get to own them and how long would the program last," he said.
Holland said Wilder's office provided no help in refining the proposal. Wilder, after calling for the pilot program in his State of the Commonwealth address last month, seemed to back away from the concept, saying it was not a "high priority."
If approved, the consultant's study would focus on whether the state could retain its annual $38.5 million profit from liquor sales if stores were privately run. Holland said it also would explore the impact on consumer prices.
"Every year we waste a lot of time killing bills to privatize liquor stores," Holland said. "This study for once and for all would answer whether it makes good sense for the state to get out. If the bottom line is that the state can farm stores to the private sector without losing revenues, then we should go ahead and do that. If the bottom line is that the state will lose money, then we wouldn't have to waste time on this issue in the future."
The ABC Board purchases liquor from wholesalers and retails it at 243 state-run stores at a 46.5 percent markup. The profits are distributed to localities based on their population.
A number of senior legislators are strongly opposed to private stores. "The ABC has long served the state well without the slightest hint of scandal," said Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton. "I don't know why in the world we would want to change it."
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by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB