Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority; changes effective date for creation of Authority.

Changes the effective date for the creation of the ABC Authority from July 1, 2018, to January 15, 2018. The bill creates a transition period from January 15, 2018, until December 31, 2018, during which time the current Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will coexist with the ABC Authority to facilitate an orderly and efficient transition and to ensure the continuation of operations during the transition. The bill provides that during the transition period the current ABC Board will be the Board of Directors of the ABC Authority. The bill grants to the ABC Authority the authority to implement and maintain independent payroll and nonpayroll disbursement systems, which are subject to review and approval by the State Comptroller and which include travel reimbursements, revenue refunds, disbursements for vendor payments, petty cash, and interagency payments. The bill also (i) streamlines the suspension and revocation process to encourage settlement of cases before reaching the appeal level to the Board of Directors, (ii) exempts the ABC Authority from mandatory procurement provisions, and (iii) authorizes the Board of Directors to delegate or assign to any officer or employee of the ABC Authority any duties or tasks required to be performed by the ABC Authority but provides that the Board of Directors remains responsible for the performance of any such duties or tasks. The bill contains numerous technical amendments.