Bill Commons

VA HB 975

enacted

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio, report.

Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · lower

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Quick answers

Did VA HB 975 pass?

Yes. VA HB 975 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-04-13): Approved by Governor-Chapter 719 (effective 7/1/2026)

What is VA HB 975 about?

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio; report. Reduces the current 45 percent food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage licensees. The bill requires that a mixed beverage restaurant, caterer's, or limited caterer's licensee meet or exceed the following: (i) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall not apply; (ii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $25,000 but less than $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent; and (iii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $4,000, but less than $25,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 45 percent, except that for any licensee with monthly food sales averaging less than $25,000 with a seating capacity of less than 30 seats and an occupancy permit for less than 60 people total, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent. The bill also requires that restaurants have at least as many seats at tables as at counters. The bill requires the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to collect data regarding the compliance of mixed beverage licensees with the provisions of the bill and the impact of the change to the food-to-beverage ratio on the gross amount of food consumed on a licensee's premises. The bill requires the Authority to report such data to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2027.

Who sponsors VA HB 975?

Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker is the primary sponsor of VA HB 975, joined by 2 cosponsors.

Description

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio; report. Reduces the current 45 percent food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage licensees. The bill requires that a mixed beverage restaurant, caterer's, or limited caterer's licensee meet or exceed the following: (i) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall not apply; (ii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $25,000 but less than $48,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent; and (iii) for such licensees with monthly food sales averaging at least $4,000, but less than $25,000, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 45 percent, except that for any licensee with monthly food sales averaging less than $25,000 with a seating capacity of less than 30 seats and an occupancy permit for less than 60 people total, the food-to-beverage ratio shall meet or exceed 30 percent. The bill also requires that restaurants have at least as many seats at tables as at counters. The bill requires the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to collect data regarding the compliance of mixed beverage licensees with the provisions of the bill and the impact of the change to the food-to-beverage ratio on the gross amount of food consumed on a licensee's premises. The bill requires the Authority to report such data to the Chairs of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2027.

Introduced
2026-01-13
Latest action
2026-04-13 — Approved by Governor-Chapter 719 (effective 7/1/2026)
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Sponsors

  • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parkerprimary
  • Jackie H. Glasscosponsor
  • Alfonso H. Lopezcosponsor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-04-13

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 719 (effective 7/1/2026)

    executive-signature

  2. 2026-03-10

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

    executive-receipt

  3. 2026-03-10

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026

    enrolled,executive-receipt

  4. 2026-02-26

    Signed by President

    passage

  5. 2026-02-26

    Signed by Speaker

    passage

  6. 2026-02-26

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB975)

  7. 2026-02-26

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB975ER)

    passage

  8. 2026-02-26

    Enrolled

    enrolled

  9. 2026-02-24

    Passed Senate (35-Y 4-N 0-A)

    passage

  10. 2026-02-24

    Reconsideration of Senate passage agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N 0-A)

  11. 2026-02-24

    Passed Senate (36-Y 3-N 0-A)

    passage

  12. 2026-02-24

    Read third time

    reading-3

  13. 2026-02-23

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  14. 2026-02-23

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A)

  15. 2026-02-23

    Rules suspended

  16. 2026-02-20

    Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services (13-Y 2-N)

    committee-passage

  17. 2026-02-13

    Referred to Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

    referral-committee

  18. 2026-02-13

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  19. 2026-02-13

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB975)

  20. 2026-02-12

    Read third time and passed House (87-Y 10-N 0-A)

    passage,reading-3

  21. 2026-02-11

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB975)

  22. 2026-02-11

    Engrossed by House as amended

  23. 2026-02-11

    committee amendment agreed to

    amendment-passage

  24. 2026-02-11

    Read second time

    reading-2

  25. 2026-02-10

    Passed by for the day

  26. 2026-02-09

    Read first time

    reading-1

  27. 2026-02-05

    Reported from General Laws with amendment(s) (18-Y 3-N)

    committee-passage

  28. 2026-02-03

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (6-Y 3-N)

  29. 2026-02-01

    House subcommittee offered

  30. 2026-01-26

    Assigned HGL sub: ABC/Gaming

    referral-committee

  31. 2026-01-13

    Referred to Committee on General Laws

    referral-committee

  32. 2026-01-13

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103975D

    filing,introduction

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s)

    2026-02-03 · pass · 6-3

    Member-level votes (10)
    • Luke E. Torian: no
    • Marcia S. "Cia" Price: no
    • Holly M. Seibold: yes
    • Joshua G. Cole: yes
    • Phil M. Hernandez: yes
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • Katrina Callsen: yes
    • Barry D. Knight: not voting
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • Terry L. Austin: yes

  • Reported from General Laws with amendment(s)

    2026-02-05 · pass · 18-3

    Member-level votes (22)
    • Paul E. Krizek: yes
    • Holly M. Seibold: yes
    • Betsy B. Carr: yes
    • Luke E. Torian: no
    • Marcia S. "Cia" Price: no
    • Marcus B. Simon: yes
    • Karrie K. Delaney: yes
    • Joshua G. Cole: yes
    • Adele Y. McClure: yes
    • Phil M. Hernandez: yes
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • Katrina Callsen: yes
    • Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
    • Stacey Annie Carroll: yes
    • Lily V. Franklin: yes
    • Barry D. Knight: not voting
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr.: yes
    • Terry L. Austin: yes
    • Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.: yes
    • Bill Wiley: yes
    • Ellen H. McLaughlin: yes

  • H VOTE:

    2026-02-12 · pass · 87-10

    Member-level votes (100)
    • Jessica L. Anderson: yes
    • Bonita G. Anthony: yes
    • Alex Q. Askew: yes
    • Terry L. Austin: yes
    • Jason S. Ballard: yes
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes
    • Robert S. Bloxom, Jr.: yes
    • Gretchen M. Bulova: yes
    • Katrina Callsen: yes
    • Karen R. "Kacey" Carnegie: yes
    • Betsy B. Carr: yes
    • Stacey Annie Carroll: yes
    • Mike A. Cherry: yes
    • Nadarius E. Clark: not voting
    • Laura Jane Cohen: yes
    • Joshua G. Cole: yes
    • Nicole Cole: yes
    • Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler: yes
    • Mitchell Cornett: no
    • Rae Cousins: yes
    • Will Davis: yes
    • Karrie K. Delaney: yes
    • Lindsey Dougherty: yes
    • Mark C. Downey: yes
    • Michael B. Feggans: yes
    • Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, Jr.: yes
    • Lily V. Franklin: yes
    • Margaret A. Franklin: yes
    • Debra D. Gardner: yes
    • Thomas A. Garrett, Jr.: yes
    • Jackie H. Glass: yes
    • Timothy P. Griffin: no
    • Elizabeth R. Guzman: yes
    • Karen Hamilton: no
    • C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr.: yes
    • Dan I. Helmer: yes
    • Rozia A. Henson, Jr.: yes
    • Phil M. Hernandez: yes
    • Charniele L. Herring: yes
    • M. Keith Hodges: yes
    • Patrick A. Hope: yes
    • Hillary Pugh Kent: yes
    • Karen Keys-Gamarra: yes
    • Terry G. Kilgore: yes
    • Barry D. Knight: not voting
    • Paul E. Krizek: yes
    • Amy J. Laufer: yes
    • James A. "Jay" Leftwich: yes
    • Destiny LeVere Bolling: yes
    • Alfonso H. Lopez: yes
    • Michelle Lopes Maldonado: yes
    • Marty Martinez: yes
    • John Chilton McAuliff: yes
    • Adele Y. McClure: yes
    • Garrett McGuire: yes
    • Ellen H. McLaughlin: yes
    • Joseph P. McNamara: yes
    • Delores L. McQuinn: yes
    • Leslie Chambers Mehta: yes
    • James W. Morefield: no
    • May Nivar: yes
    • Delores Oates: yes
    • Israel D. O'Quinn: not voting
    • Justin Pence: yes
    • Eric Phillips: yes
    • Kimberly Pope Adams: yes
    • Marcia S. "Cia" Price: no
    • Sam Rasoul: no
    • Atoosa R. Reaser: yes
    • David A. Reid: yes
    • Chris S. Runion: yes
    • Charlie Schmidt: yes
    • Don Scott: yes
    • Phillip A. Scott: yes
    • Holly M. Seibold: yes
    • Briana D. Sewell: yes
    • Irene Shin: yes
    • Marcus B. Simon: yes
    • Shelly A. Simonds: yes
    • JJ Singh: yes
    • Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr.: yes
    • Anne Ferrell Tata: yes
    • Joshua E. Thomas: yes
    • Virgil Thornton: yes
    • Luke E. Torian: no
    • Kathy K.L. Tran: yes
    • H. Otto Wachsmann, Jr.: yes
    • Wendell S. Walker: yes
    • Jeion A. Ward: yes
    • R. Lee Ware: yes
    • Vivian E. Watts: yes
    • Michael J. Webert: yes
    • Madison Whittle: no
    • Bill Wiley: yes
    • Rodney T. Willett: yes
    • Wren M. Williams: yes
    • Tony O. Wilt: no
    • Thomas C. Wright, Jr.: no
    • Scott A. Wyatt: yes
    • Eric R. Zehr: yes

  • Reported from Rehabilitation and Social Services

    2026-02-20 · pass · 13-2

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Ryan T. McDougle: yes
    • Bryce E. Reeves: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Scott A. Surovell: no
    • Bill DeSteph: no
    • Christopher T. Head: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Mark J. Peake: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: yes

  • Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading)

    2026-02-23 · pass · 37-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Lamont Bagby: yes
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: yes
    • Christie New Craig: yes
    • R. Creigh Deeds: not voting
    • Bill DeSteph: yes
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
    • Tara A. Durant: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: yes
    • Christopher T. Head: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: yes
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • David W. Marsden: not voting
    • Ryan T. McDougle: yes
    • Jeremy S. McPike: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: yes
    • Mark J. Peake: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Todd E. Pillion: yes
    • Bryce E. Reeves: not voting
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Aaron R. Rouse: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: yes
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • Scott A. Surovell: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes

  • Passage R

    2026-02-24 · pass · 36-3

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Lamont Bagby: no
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: yes
    • Christie New Craig: yes
    • R. Creigh Deeds: yes
    • Bill DeSteph: no
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
    • Tara A. Durant: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: no
    • Christopher T. Head: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: yes
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Ryan T. McDougle: yes
    • Jeremy S. McPike: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: yes
    • Mark J. Peake: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Todd E. Pillion: yes
    • Bryce E. Reeves: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Aaron R. Rouse: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: not voting
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • Scott A. Surovell: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes

  • Reconsider R

    2026-02-24 · pass · 39-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Lashrecse D. Aird: yes
    • Lamont Bagby: yes
    • Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker: yes
    • Jennifer B. Boysko: yes
    • Jennifer D. Carroll Foy: yes
    • Luther Cifers, III: yes
    • Christie New Craig: yes
    • R. Creigh Deeds: yes
    • Bill DeSteph: yes
    • J.D. "Danny" Diggs: yes
    • Tara A. Durant: yes
    • Barbara A. Favola: yes
    • Timmy French: yes
    • T. Travis Hackworth: yes
    • Christopher T. Head: yes
    • Michael J. Jones: yes
    • Emily M. Jordan: yes
    • Mamie E. Locke: yes
    • L. Louise Lucas: yes
    • David W. Marsden: yes
    • Ryan T. McDougle: yes
    • Jeremy S. McPike: yes
    • Tammy Brankley Mulchi: yes
    • Mark D. Obenshain: yes
    • Mark J. Peake: yes
    • Stella G. Pekarsky: yes
    • Russet Perry: yes
    • Todd E. Pillion: yes
    • Bryce E. Reeves: yes
    • Danica A. Roem: yes
    • Aaron R. Rouse: yes
    • Saddam Azlan Salim: yes
    • Kannan Srinivasan: yes
    • William M. Stanley, Jr.: yes
    • Richard H. Stuart: not voting
    • Glen H. Sturtevant, Jr.: yes
    • David R. Suetterlein: yes
    • Scott A. Surovell: yes
    • Schuyler T. VanValkenburg: yes
    • Angelia Williams Graves: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB975

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:35:59.552682Z

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