Dale F. Farino

New Business included the consideration of a petition to extend Happy Hour hours from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, which followed public comment indicating mixed support. The Board ultimately voted to reject this petition, desiring more information from other entities and observing pending legislation. The Board unanimously approved the internal audit plan presented by the Director of Internal Audit, which covered the FY25 year-end report and FY26 short plan. The Board conducted two appeal hearings, voting 5-0 in both cases to uphold the Administrative Law Judge's decisions for Hill Top Restaurant and Express Food Mart. Discussions also occurred regarding monitoring of ABC-related bills during the 2026 Legislative Session, and public comment included input regarding the MBAR topic scheduled for April or May.

The agenda for the February 5, 2026 Board Meeting included several key items scheduled to commence at 9:00 AM. Discussions and potential actions covered Board Appeal Hearings regarding Hill Top Restaurant and Express Food Mart, comments from the Board, and public comments. The agenda also included a closed session for a Litigation Update (Hucks-Watkins), a New Business item for Board approval/action, and a New Business item for Board information concerning the 2026 Legislative Session. An Internal Audit Presentation by Garner was also scheduled. The meeting concluded with adjournment.

The meeting included Board Appeal Hearings, resulting in the dismissal of charges after deliberations in closed session. New Business covered the Virtual Board Meeting policy, which was adopted with revisions to review it annually. A financial update for November and December 2025 was presented, prompting requests for marketing strategy discussions and a breakdown of SKUs at the Carytown store. Public comments focused on extending happy hour as a marketing tool and adopting a price differential (penny rounding) proposal, which the Board unanimously approved. Updates were provided on the 2026 Legislative Session tracking 72 bills. The Board reviewed the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) report for the year ended June 30, 2025, which identified six significant deficiencies requiring corrective action, discussed in closed session. The majority of the document detailed the Internal Audit Update & FY26 Audit Plan, covering results from FY25 audits of SPCC, Retail Stores (noting inventory accuracy at 97.3% and common findings in 'Morning Paperwork'), and Distillery Stores. The proposed FY26 Audit Plan was also presented, detailing ongoing and planned audits for Retail, Distillery Stores, Expense Review, Warehouse Receiving, IT, Investigations, and Special Projects.

The meeting began with a Board Appeal Hearing regarding Ono Brewing, which included deliberation in closed session, ultimately resulting in the dismissal of charges by sustaining the Administrative Law Judge's recommendation. New business covered revisions to the November 21, 2025, and December 9, 2025, meeting minutes, where language concerning Virginia's restrictiveness was modified in the latter. The Board also adopted the old Virtual Board Meeting policy with a revision to review it annually. A financial update was provided for November and December 2025, with requests made for Q1 marketing strategy details and a breakdown of items related to the Carytown store. Public comments focused on a potential extension of happy hour as a marketing tool, with supporting testimony provided by representatives of the VRLTA and a restaurant group, noting positive outcomes in other states like Texas. The Board also unanimously approved the proposal to implement rounding monetary transactions to the nearest nickel (price differential). Furthermore, the results of the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) report for the year ended June 30, 2025, were reviewed, detailing six significant deficiencies requiring corrective action, two of which required closed session discussion. The meeting concluded after addressing comments from the Board.

The meeting began with the Board Chair calling the session to order. Key business included the Annual Report distribution and subsequent approval, which requires submission by December 15, 2026. Financial updates for October showed net revenues of $107.2M, which was favorable to the budget. Discussions involved potential fiscal impacts of marijuana-related legislation and cannabis enforcement structures. The Board also addressed requests regarding the happy hour regulation, including comparisons with other states' cutoff times and economic pressures on restaurants. Related to the pending minutes approval, research was commissioned concerning Virginia's equivalency law and rounding methods for coin shortages, with results expected at the January 15, 2026 meeting. Public comments focused heavily on the happy hour regulation, safety implications, and potential impacts on MBAR.