Code of Virginia § 4.1-128. Local ordinances or resolutions regulating or taxing alcoholic beverages.
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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.
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, E, and F 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charter provisions and ordinances of cities and towns, inconsistent with any of the provisions of this subtitle, are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.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 ; 2024, c. 492 .