Testimony for Virginia House General Laws Committee in Support of Virginia SB 811: Third-Party Delivery of Alcohol Sunset Repeal.
Testimony from:
Robert Melvin, Northeast Region Director, R Street Institute
Testimony in Support of VA SB 811: “Alcoholic beverage control; third-party delivery licenses.”
February 4, 2025
Virginia House General Laws Committee
Chairman Bulova and members of the committee,
My name is Robert Melvin, and I am the Northeast region director at the R Street Institute. The R Street Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization. Our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government in many areas. Our work includes researching and promoting rational alcohol policies that balance consumer choice, free enterprise and public safety. We are also one of the only national think tanks that boasts expertise in alcohol policy and analyzes alcohol laws and regulations. That is why we have a particular interest in Senate Bill 811.
Senate Bill 811 eliminates the sunset provision from state law that allows third-party delivery services to deliver alcoholic beverages from restaurants and retailers, thereby making this practice permanent.[1] It builds upon reforms to Virginia’s alcohol laws that started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that encouraged many states and localities to implement significant changes to many long-held but unnecessary regulations. Prior to March, 2020, no state permitted restaurants to deliver or serve cocktails to-go; however, by the fall of 2022, 38 states had adopted temporary measures permitting restaurants to sell alcohol to-go or for delivery.[2]
As states relaxed restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers found that loosening archaic alcohol rules was overwhelmingly popular with the public.[3] In Virginia, 78% of polled residents expressed support for making permanent the ability to purchase alcohol with their takeout and delivery food orders.[4] This favorable response spurred 33 states and the District of Columbia to allow third-party delivery of alcohol from retail establishments, and led 29 states and the District of Columbia to make permanent their laws allowing cocktails to-go.[5]
Alcohol delivery has been permissible—albeit not as a permanent rule—in the Commonwealth since 2020, with several legislative extensions occurring over that timeframe.[6] In 2022 a third-party alcohol delivery license was established.[7] It included a provision that directed the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (VABC) to collect data on restaurants and third-party delivery services’ compliance rates with underage drinking laws and report their findings to the Virginia General Assembly. The report released in November 2023, revealed that compliance for cocktails to-go in licensed restaurants was similar to that of ABC brick-and-mortar stores, while third-party delivery services’ compliance rates were lower.[8]
So, in 2024 legislation passed that made cocktails to-go permanent and extended out the sunset of the third-party alcohol delivery license.[9] It also required the VABC to do another more thorough study of compliance rates related to preventing underage access of alcohol by these third-party delivery companies. In 2024, VABC’s Bureau of Law Enforcement completed over 200 underage buyer checks, with the authority’s report finding that compliance rates for third-party delivery licensees was 90 percent, proving a drastic improvement from the prior 2023 report.[10]
With the recent VABC report providing favorable results, it’s important to also contemplate the economic benefits of SB 811. Measures like SB 811 help bolster restaurant’s bottom lines.[11] In fact, restaurants that offer alcohol normally receive over 20% of their revenue from such sales, which makes third-party delivery of alcohol a potentially lucrative revenue generator.[12] Allowing restaurants and other retailers to partner with third-party delivery platforms can have an amplifying effect on their bottom-line by creating new market-access channels. In fact, data suggests that retailers that are permitted to partner with third-party delivery platforms see an increase in revenues by 30-50 percent.[13] So, it’s no surprise that approximately 9 out of 10 restaurant operators plan to continue to sell alcohol with carryout orders if state law continues to allow such sales.[14]
When examining reforms to laws for regulated products like alcohol, lawmakers shouldn’t limit the considerations to merely economic outcomes and consumer sentiments; public safety factors also must be assessed. At the R Street Institute, we have analyzed alcohol delivery reforms and their potential correlation with externalities such as increased alcohol consumption rates, drunk driving, and underage access. Through our research, we have found that almost every state that permitted delivery and to-go alcohol during COVID-19 witnessed a decrease in youth drinking rates.[15] Furthermore, states that permitted the delivery of alcohol saw a smaller rise in their overall drinking rates compared to those that prohibited delivery.[16]
With regards to drunk driving, states that approved alcohol delivery experienced smaller increases in drunk driving deaths during the pandemic—which makes sense, given that home-delivery of alcohol allows consumers to avoid driving back from the bar after numerous drinks.[17] These trends do not indicate causation, but they do help underscore that alcohol delivery does not correlate with increased underage access, more drinking, or more drunk driving.
There could very well be a causal relationship between reduced drunk driving and alcohol delivery. Analyses from other entities likewise suggest that allowing third-party delivery platforms to transport alcohol from retailers to customers’ doorsteps could help reduce drunk driving in states like Virginia.[18] By permitting alcohol delivery from on-premise and off-premise retailers, the state can ensure that adults who may have already been drinking will have other safer alternatives to obtain an alcoholic beverage rather than driving a vehicle and risking lives. This view is also held by four out of five Americans who believe that alcohol delivery services may help mitigate drunk driving.[19]
Finally, my organization released a report on alcohol delivery best practices. SB 811 meets many of the criteria outlined in our report by carefully balancing increased consumer choice with necessary public safety considerations, such as those related to preventing underage access.[20]
There are many benefits to the proposal, including expanding choice for consumers who strongly support alcohol consignment by third-party delivery, and helping restaurants and other retailers generate revenue through off-premise sales. For these reasons, I hope you give favorable consideration to SB 811 and strongly urge you to pass this legislation.
Thank you,
Robert Melvin
Northeast Region State Government Affairs Director
R Street Institute
[1] Virginia General Assembly, 2025 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 811, Last accessed February 4, 2025: https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/SB811
[2] C. Jarrett Dieterle, R Street Institute, “The Data Is In: Alcohol Delivery and Consumption During COVID-19.” April 18, 2023: https://www.rstreet.org/research/the-data-is-in-alcohol-delivery-and-consumption-during-covid-19/
[3] Carl Campanile, “New Yorkers want to keep booze flowing in post-coronavirus food delivery,” New York Post, July 7, 2020. https://nypost.com/2020/07/07/newyorkers-want-to-keep-booze-in-post-coronavirus-food-delivery
Tim Keenan, “Survey: Michigan Consumers Say Yes to Take-out Cocktails,” DBusiness, May 29, 2020. https://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/survey-michigan-consumers-say-yes-to-take-out-cocktails.
[4] Vernon Miles, “New Poll Finds Widespread Support for To-Go Drinks Post Pandemic,” ARLNow News, June 12, 2020. https://www.arlnow.com/2020/06/12/new-poll-finds-widespread-support-for-to-go-drinks-post-pandemic/
[5] Austin Jenkins, Pluribus News, “Raising the bar: States serve up permanent to-go alcohol laws,” July 24, 2024: https://pluribusnews.com/news-and-events/raising-the-bar-states-serve-up-permanent-to-go-alcohol-laws/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AM 72424&utm_content=AM 72424+CID_02de9ab30507b8053d2606123e9000aa&utm_source=Email marketing software&utm_term=Pluribus News
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, “State Issues and Market Modernization: Cocktails To-Go,” Last accessed January 20, 2025: https://www.distilledspirits.org/state-issues-market-modernizations/
[6] Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Executive Order 53, Library of Virginia, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://rosetta.virginiamemory.com/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE3440380
General Assembly, 2021 Legislative Session, Special Session I, House Bill 1879, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+sum+HB1879
Virginia General Assembly, 2021 Legislative Session, Special Session I, Senate Bill 1299, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+sum+SB1299
[7] Virginia General Assembly, 2022 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 254, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+SB254
Virginia General Assembly, 2022 Legislative Session, House Bill 426, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB426
[8] Thomas Kirby, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, Letter to Virginia House General Laws Committee and Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee re Compliance of Cocktails To-Go Law, October 31, 2023.
[9] Virginia General Assembly, 2024 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 635, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+SB635
Virginia General Assembly, 2024 Legislative Session, House Bill 688, Last accessed January 16, 2025: https://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB688
[10] Dale Farino, Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, Letter to Virginia House General Laws Committee and Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee re Compliance of Third-Party Delivery Licensees, October 29, 2024.
[11] Steve Maugeri, Spectrum News 1, “Restaurants Capitalize on Popularity of Alcohol, Food To-Go and Catering,” May 19, 2023: https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/05/12/alcohol-and-food-to-go-
[12] Alicia Kelso, Nations Restaurant News, “National Restaurant Association: Alcohol To-Go is Here to Stay,” June 9, 2023: https://www.nrn.com/consumer-trends/national-restaurant-association-alcohol-go-here-stay
[13] Diana Donovan, DoorDash, “Alcohol Pickup & Delivery Consumer Trends for 2023,” May 23, 2023: https://get.doordash.com/en-us/blog/top-alcohol-trends-post-covid
[14] National Restaurant Association, “On The Menu: Trends in On- and Off-Premises Beverage Alcohol,” June 7, 2023: https://go.restaurant.org/rs/078-ZLA-461/images/National-Restaurant-Association-Alcohol-Trends.pdf
[15] C. Jarrett Dieterle, R Street Institute, “Alcohol Delivery and Underage Drinking: A COVID-19 Case Study,” July 2023: https://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/policy-short-no-128-R5-1.pdf
[16] C. Jarrett Dieterle, R Street Institute, “The Data Is In: Alcohol Delivery and Consumption During COVID-19,” Apr. 2023: https://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/policy-short-no-127-R3-1.pdf
[17] C. Jarrett Dieterle, R Street Institute, “The Facts About To-Go Alcohol and Drunk Driving: The COVID-19 Experience,” June 2022. https://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ULTIMATE_policy-short-no-114-REVD.pdf
[18] Monitech Ignition Interlock Systems, “Drizly App May Reduce Drunk Driving,” June 20, 2014: https://monitechnc.com/drizly-app-reduce-drunk-driving/
[19] Heather Reinblatt, Circuit, “American’s shared their experiences with alcohol delivery services,” April 28, 2022: https://getcircuit.com/route-planner/blog/alcohol-deliveries-pros-and-cons
[20] C. Jarrett Dieterle, R Street Institute, “How to Regulate Alcohol Delivery,” February 2024: https://www.rstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/FINAL2-r-street-policy-study-no-299.pdf