State Senator Toddy Puller (D-36) and Delegate Scott Surovell (D-44) voiced their opposition to Governor Bob McDonnell's plan to privatize state-owned liquor stores at a Mt. Vernon town hall last night, while a public comment period found the audience divided on the governor's plan.

"This proposal is worse than I thought it was going to be," Puller said at the town hall, which was held at Mt. Vernon Government Center. The senator added that she thought some of the proposal's assumptions, like the expectation that Virginians who buy liquor outside the state will start buying in Virginia, will not materialize.

Currently, Virginia's state government operates 332 liquor stores. In McDonnell's plan, the few stores Virginia owns, rather than rents, would be sold, along with a liquor warehouse run by the state.

Instead of operating the ABC stores, Virginia will auction 1,000 licenses to sell hard liquor. Six hundred will be available to "big box" and grocery stores, 250 to pharmacies and convenience stores, and 150 to small liquor stores. The licenses will be sold with different prices for each tier, with the cheapest license costing $154,288 and the most expensive, for big box stores, costing $478,000.

The estimated $458 million dollars earned from selling stores and licenses would be put towards Virginia's mounting transportation needs. But Del. Surovell doubted that the money would do much for Virginia's transportation problems. In a paper distributed at the townhall, Puller wrote that the money would perhaps only amount to a widening of Route 1.

Del. Surovell expressed his concern that the privatization plan would leave Virginia without the revenue it earns every year from the liquor stores.

"Selling liquor in a monopoly scenario is a pretty profitable endeavor," he said. Surovell added that the lost revenue would result in a smaller pool of funds for the states general fund, possibly reducing social services in the area.

Instead, Surovell said the state should pursue funding transportation by rethinking the gasoline tax. Because of the increased popularity of cars with high gas mileage, he said, the gas tax was failing to act as a usage fee for the state's roads.

Fairfax residents who spoke at the town hall opposed the plan for other reasons. An African-American woman said she thought a disproportionate number of new liquor stores would be set up in her area and other "oppressed" neighborhoods. She added that those who thought small liquor stores could compete with big box stores because of their shorter lines were mistaken.

"Believe me, if you don't know drunks, drunk will stand in line," she said.

Sateesh Korbe, a Mount Vernon engineer, said he thinks the plan will result in less responsible drinkers. He expects it to raise price on liquor, making it a less attractive purchase for senior citizens on a fixed income, while making it more available to underage drinkers. Korbe said he doubts the clerks at big box stores will be a vigorous with preventing underage drinking as ABC store employees.

"It'll just change the profile of the drinkers," he said.

Although a majority of speakers at the town hall opposed McDonnell's plan, others said competition between stores would create more variety in liquor options in Virginia, while another asked why the government should be regulating the number of liquor stores at all.

Towards the meeting's close, Puller said she does not think the privatization proposal has more than 30 votes in the 100-member House of Delegates, while the Senate will not consider the bill until it has passed the lower house.