The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 25-033, seeks to impose new restrictions on liquor-licensed drugstores in Colorado. The bill aims to halt the issuance of new licenses, limit ownership interests, and regulate the transferability of existing licenses.
Key Provisions:
Moratorium on New Licenses:
State and local licensing authorities are prohibited from issuing new liquor-licensed drugstore licenses after the bill's effective date.
Restrictions on Existing Licenses:
Current license holders are barred from changing the location of, merging, selling, converting, or transferring their licenses.
Exceptions are made for licenses issued to independent pharmacies before January 1, 2025; these may be sold or transferred to another independent pharmacy licensee or to an entity without an existing license.
Ownership Limitations:
Individuals or entities with direct or indirect interests in liquor-licensed drugstores are restricted to holding interests in no more than eight licenses.
These measures are designed to control the proliferation of liquor sales in drugstores and maintain regulatory oversight.
Summary
On and after the effective date of the bill, the bill prohibits the
state and local licensing authorities (licensing authorities) from issuing a new liquor-licensed drugstore license (license). Licensing authorities may continue to renew existing licenses.
A person holding a license (licensee) is prohibited from changing
the location of, merging, selling, converting, or transferring a license; except that a licensee that holds a license that was issued to an independent pharmacy before January 1, 2025, shall not, on or after the effective date of the bill, change the location of or merge or convert the license but may sell or transfer the license to another licensee that is an independent pharmacy that holds a license or to a person that does not already have a license.
The bill prohibits an owner, part owner, shareholder, or person
interested directly or indirectly in a liquor-licensed drugstore from having an interest in more than 8 licenses. Sections 3 through 7 of the bill make conforming amendments to
account for the new restrictions on the license.
