DENVER – A measure that would allow the sale of full-strength beer, wine and liquor in grocery stores crossed another hurdle Tuesday in the Legislature.
The House gave initial approval to the bill Tuesday night. It’s set to receive a final vote in the House Wednesday, on the last day of the legislative session.
Observers expect the bill to make its way to Gov. John Hickenlooper, though whether the governor would support the measure remains unclear. The governor previously said that he favors current law and has concerns with a change.
“This is a compromise, everything in this is negotiated, it’s not perfect,” said Rep. Dan Nordberg, R-Colorado Springs, who is co-sponsoring the bipartisan legislation.
The measure carries with it the largest contingency of support ever seen for the effort, which has failed over decades in previous legislative sessions.
It passed the Senate Monday 31-4, with Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, in support.
Some smaller liquor stores, such as the Korean Liquor Retailers Association and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Liquor Association, support the bill, as do several craft brewers, the Distilled Spirits Council and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Colorado.
But grocers, including King Soopers, Safeway and Albertsons, as well as Applejack Wine and Spirits, a larger liquor store in Wheat Ridge, remain concerned.
The grocers are pushing a ballot initiative that would allow the sale of beer and wine in supermarkets and convenience stores. They are collecting signatures to make the November ballot.
Grocers have not committed to pulling the ballot initiative if the bill passes.
Applejack is critical of the bill for different reasons, arguing that current law is sufficient.
“What I’m afraid of is what I call the law of unintended consequences,” said Jim Shpall, co-owner of Applejack. “I am worried that I will never be given the tools to open up other stores. ... I’m handcuffed by this bill.”
The reason the measure is viewed as a compromise is because full-strength alcohol sales would be phased in over 20 years, with grocery stores allowed to gradually purchase 20 licenses through 2037. After that, stores would be allowed to obtain unlimited licenses.
Also important to the compromise is a buffer zone provision, in which the bill draws a radius of 1,500 feet around existing liquor stores and requires grocery stores to buy out liquor stores for a minimum of $350,000 each to obtain licenses within that zone.
Without the legislation, voters could be faced with several ballot initiatives in addition to the one pushed by grocers. Proposals include not just beer and wine, but also allowing liquor at all supermarkets across the state, without a phasing in of licenses.
“We just want to make sure that this is not unbalanced,” said Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, a co-sponsor of the bill. “I just can’t say enough for the stakeholders who worked on this.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
