The House of Delegates voted Tuesday to reject Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s request to delay a bill allowing high-proof grain alcohol to be sold at state ABC stores.
The governor had asked for another year of review to study how the sale of Everclear and other 151-proof grain alcohol would impact college campuses. The Republican-controlled House rejected the request on a 31-63 vote.
Nine Democrats joined with Republicans to reject McAuliffe’s amendment, while six Republicans voted to accept it.
The bill allowing the sale of flavorless and colorless grain alcohol has passed the House and Senate by wide margins, but the rejection of the governor’s proposed amendment leaves McAuliffe with a decision either to accept or veto House Bill 143.
“We’ll review it,” McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said. “The governor’s going to have to make a decision. But we’ll have some time to do that.”
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Del. Barry D. Knight, R-Virginia Beach, said the objections to the bill were appearing late in the process, and he encouraged colleagues to reject the governor’s amendment.
“There are 48 other states in the United States of America that have this product,” said Knight, adding that all of the states that border Virginia allow it.
The governor had recommended having the state Commission on Youth study the issue and report back in the fall. McAuliffe also called for the legislature to vote on the bill again in 2017.
Opposition to the bill came mainly from higher education groups that deal with alcohol abuse.
House Minority Leader David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, said the state has heard testimony about alcohol fueling “things that rise to criminal conduct and are inappropriate.”
“It’s difficult to detect. And it’s powerful,” Toscano said of flavorless grain alcohol. “And it makes it easier to spike punches on a college campus. That’s why the governor weighed in, and that’s why he thinks we should wait a little bit.”
Knight said data show that 64 percent of customers who buy the product in other states are age 31 or older. Government-run ABC stores near college campuses could choose not to sell high-proof spirits.
“That’s totally at their discretion,” Knight said.
The legislation would allow for the sale of Everclear, but the operation of ABC stores is controlled by the Virginia ABC Board, which consists of three people appointed by the governor.
Luxco, the St. Louis-based manufacturer of Everclear, sought the legislation. In December, the company gave $5,500 to legislative political action committees for both parties.