HB 24-1373

HB 24-1373, a Colorado bill that has been signed into law, aims to change how alcohol is sold and regulated. Starting January 1, 2025, it will end the special license for drugstores to sell liquor, converting these licenses to wine and beer sales only, with some exceptions allowing them to become regular liquor stores under certain conditions. The bill also increases the amount of alcohol that specific retailers can buy from other licensed stores each month from $2,000 to $5,000. Additionally, it updates rules around alcohol delivery and allows the use of public assistance cards at ATMs in grocery stores. This means that drugstores will no longer be able to sell hard liquor starting next year unless they change their license type, impacting how and where people can buy different types of alcoholic beverages.

Official Summary

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill eliminate the liquor-licensed drugstore license, effective January 1, 2025. All active liquor-licensed drugstore licenses will convert to a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license on that date; except that a licensee with a single location may choose to convert the liquor-licensed drugstore license to a retail liquor store license. Section 3 of the bill prohibits the state and local licensing authorities from issuing new liquor-licensed drugstore licenses. The state and local licensing authorities may renew liquor-licensed drugstore licenses that are in effect on the effective date of the bill. Sections 18 21 through 29 make conforming amendments to account for the removal of the liquor-licensed drugstore license prohibition on the issuance of new liquor-licensed drugstore licenses . Sections 3 and 4 require 4 and 5 prohibit fermented malt beverage and wine retailers to display from displaying alcohol beverages for sale in a single location in certain locations on the licensed premises and prohibit fermented malt beverage and wine retailers from selling alcohol fermented malt beverages with greater than 14% 17% alcohol by volume. Sections 5 and 6 6 and 7 expand on a wholesaler's duty not to discriminate when selling products to retailers and allows the state licensing authority to recover the cost of enforcing the anti-discrimination laws from a person found in violation of the anti-discrimination laws. Current law limits the amount of alcohol beverages certain retailers can purchase from retail liquor stores, liquor-licensed drugstores, and fermented malt beverage and wine retailers to $2,000 dollars' worth of alcohol beverages each calendar year . Sections 7 through 17 remove 8 through 18 and 22 increase the cap as it applies purchases by certain retailers from retail liquor stores to $5,000 worth of alcohol beverages each calendar month . Section 22 allows retail liquor stores to purchase $5,000 worth of alcohol beverages from other licensed retail stores each calendar month. For the delivery of alcohol beverages: Section 4 5 prohibits fermented malt beverage and wine retailers from delivering alcohol beverages to another person licensed to sell alcohol beverages; and Section 24 22 removes the prohibition on a retail liquor store delivering alcohol beverages to another retail liquor store. Section 18 19 allows automated teller machine (ATM) cards associated with public assistance programs to be used at ATMs in grocery stores. (Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.) (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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