Virginia Code 3.2-3008: Virginia Spirits Board; purpose; composition and appointment of members; quorum; meeting
A. The Virginia Spirits Board is established within the Department. The purpose of the Board is to foster the development of the Virginia spirits industry by expanding spirits research, increasing education, and promoting the production of ingredients necessary for alcohol distillation and the production of spirits in the Commonwealth.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 3.2-3008
- Board: means the Virginia Spirits Board. See Virginia Code 3.2-3007
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
- Cooper: means a commercial producer of wooden casks, barrels, and other staved wooden containers who sells at least $10,000 worth of such wooden containers of a type used for the production of spirits. See Virginia Code 3.2-3007
- Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
- Maltster: means a commercial producer of malt who (i) sells at least $10,000 worth of malt annually or (ii) has planted and maintains at least three acres of grains of a type used for the production of spirits. See Virginia Code 3.2-3007
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- Spirits: means the same as that term is defined in § Virginia Code 3.2-3007
B. The Board shall consist of 11 members as follows: the Commissioner and the Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, both of whom shall serve ex officio without voting privileges, or their designees, and nine voting nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Governor, three of whom shall be coopers or maltsters and six of whom shall be owners or operators of a distillery in the Commonwealth. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. The Governor shall make his appointments upon consideration of the recommendations made by any cooper or maltster or any owner or operator of a distillery. Each entity or person shall submit two or more recommendations for each available position at least 90 days before the expiration of the member’s term for which the recommendation is being provided. If such entities or persons fail to provide the nominations at least 90 days before the expiration date pursuant to this section, the Governor may appoint other nominees that meet the foregoing criteria.
C. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum, but a two-thirds vote of the members present shall be required for passage of items taken up by the Board. The Board shall meet at least four times each year. The meetings of the Board shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.