                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LOCAL ORDINANCES OR RESOLUTIONS REGULATING OR TAXING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (§
4.1-128)

A. No county, city, or town shall, except as provided in &#xA7; 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 &#xA7;
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 &#xA7;
4.1-308 subject to the provisions of subsections B, E, and F of &#xA7; 4.1-308,
or the acts described in &#xA7; 4.1-309, and may provide a penalty for violation
thereof and (ii) subject to subsection C of &#xA7; 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provisions of this subtitle, are repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.

HISTORY: 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.