SB 18-139

Senate Bill 18-139 in Colorado requires retailers who sell cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products to obtain a license from the state's liquor enforcement division starting January 1, 2019. This means that any business selling these items must display their license and cannot advocate for local taxes or fees on such products. The bill also restricts how grant money can be used for tobacco education programs and prevents cities and counties from imposing certain restrictions on the sale of these products to receive state funding. Since it has been signed, this law is now in effect and impacts all retailers selling nicotine-containing products within the state.

Official Summary

Sections 2 through 4 of the bill establish a licensure requirement for retailers who sell cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products (products). Beginning January 1, 2019, it is illegal for any person doing business in the state to sell or offer for sale products without first obtaining a license as a retailer from the division of liquor enforcement in the department of revenue (division). A retailer with more than one location is required to have a separate license for each location. The division will establish the license application and is required to grant a license to an applicant if it meets the statutory requirements. There is no fee for a license and the license is valid until it is surrendered or revoked. A retailer is required to conspicuously display the license. Section 1 permits money that is appropriated to the division from the tobacco education programs fund to be used for the licensure of retailers, and it increases the required annual appropriation from the fund from $300,000 to $1 million. Section 6 prohibits an entity from receiving a grant for tobacco education, prevention, and cessation if any money would be used to: Advocate for a local government to impose a license requirement, fee, or tax on a retailer or impose a tax on tobacco products in any manner; or Support a statewide ballot measure that would impose a local license requirement, fee, or tax on a retailer or impose any type of tax on cigarettes or tobacco products. An entity is likewise prohibited from using a grant award to supplant other money that is in turn used for these prohibited purposes. Any prior grant that was to be used for these prohibited purposes must instead be used for tobacco education, prevention, or cessation. Under current law, an amount equal to 27% of gross cigarette sales are distributed to cities and counties in the state, but to be eligible for this distribution a city and county must not impose a fee, license, or tax on any person as a condition for engaging in the business of selling cigarettes or impose a tax on cigarettes. Section 8 expands the condition for receiving state money to include the same prohibitions for other tobacco products and nicotine products and it establishes another condition that a local government must not ban any person from selling cigarettes, other tobacco products, or nicotine products for any period of time.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.) Read More

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