Despite opposition from the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the Virginia Retail Federation, Senate Bill 1230 has advanced.
The bill which will require tobacco retailers to obtain a license from the Virginia Department of Alcohol Beverage Control has passed the first step with approval from the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services.
The bill is now headed before the Senate Finance Committee and if passed it will require a background check on applicants, managers and others handling tobacco products at the business and it would include Virginia criminal history search and fingerprints.
The move is aimed at reducing trafficking of tobacco, mainly cigarettes between places like Virginia and New York.
