RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginians will pay at least 24 cents more on average for a bottle of booze starting Dec. 8. The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved three pricing adjustments Monday as part of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s plan to plug a $2.4 billion gap in the two-year state budget. Board chairman Jeffrey Painter said the average price of a bottle of liquor at state-run stores is $15. That will increase by 24 cents to 29 cents per bottle. The board rejected an across-the-board increase in the markup. Instead, it raised the markup only on miniature bottles, doubled the $1 case handling fee and agreed to round up the last digit of all prices to 9. The actions will raise about $5 million this fiscal year and $9 million in fiscal year 2016.
