Pursuant to §2.2-4007, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association submits the following comments in response to the petition to Amend to Repeal or Amend section 3VAC5- 70-180 of the Virginia Administrative  Code, captioned "Regulation of the Sale of Alcoholic Beverage in Kegs and Other Containers; Permit and Registration; Other Requirements."  The petition was filed with ABC on February 15, 2018 and published in Virginia Register on March 19, 2018.

The petition asks that the regulations governing the registration, or "tagging" of kegs of beer by retailers at the time of purchase be eliminated.  The keg tagging process requires that the retailer complete a registration tag with the purchaser's identifying information, the location where the keg is to be consumed, and a statement signed by the purchaser stating that he or she will not permit persons under the age of 21 to consume the contents of the keg.  A copy of the registration tag is affixed to the keg, where it is to remain until the empty keg is returned to the retailer.

 The petitioner's main complaint appears to be that the process of keg registration is an inconvenience not suffered by persons who choose to purchase their beer in cans or bottles.

 Although the VBWA is sensitive to the fact that the keg registration requirements imposed by 3VAC5-70-180 may present a slight inconvenience to a hurried keg purchaser, it does not agree with the petitioner's sentiments that keg registration  is simply "more bureaucracy and paperwork."  Rather, for more than 25 years keg registration has been a valuable tool for law enforcement in its ongoing battle against underage drinking.

The 1992 regulations requiring keg registration came about in direct response to a noticeable increase in underage parties featuring kegged beer, and the inability oflaw enforcement to determine the source of the beer discovered at these unlawful gatherings. Contrary to  petitioner's claim that keg tagging doesn't "actually accomplish what it is supposed to," 25 years of keg registration has had precisely the effect that legislators and regulators hoped for: a reduction in the number of kegs found at unlawful underage gatherings.

While it is true that a person could simply buy the same quantity of beer in cans or bottles (about 7 cases), it would be unrealistic to require that every purchase of beer in any sized container be subject to the same registration process.  Keg tagging was intended to discourage untraceable straw-man purchases of kegged beer destined for underage parties.  In that respect the system of registration has worked remarkably well, and its impact on the lawful retail sale and purchase of kegged beer has been minimal.

VBWA members understand that the extra step the regulations require for kegged beer may cause some minor inconvenience to buyer and seller (wholesalers themselves must abide by the same regulations when selling kegs to non-retailers).  Nevertheless, the VBWA and its members believe that keg registration has provided law enforcement with such an important tool to combat underage drinking that it far outweighs any minor inconvenience that may result.

For these reasons, the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association respectfully urges that the Board of Directors deny petitioner's request to amend or repeal 3VAC5-70- l 80.