Not a huge surprise, but the Virginia Retail Merchants Association, a nonprofit trade group, officially endorsed Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to privatize the state’s liquor stores, on the heels of a positive reception of the plan from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
“It is clear that the government sale of alcohol is a decades-old policy that needs to change,” reads a statement from the group. “To that end, we support the plan announced this week by the administration to privatize ABC stores in the Commonwealth. We also support the dedication of up-front revenue to transportation. While this initiative is only one piece of a long-term solution to transportation funding, we should not turn our backs on $500 million in revenue that can help relieve congestion across the commonwealth.”
