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Colorado’s powerful and compelling lobby of small, independent liquor store owners has once again managed to successfully kill a bill that would have let grocery and convenience stores share in their business. Senate Bill 149 – to allow full-strength beer and wine sales at those retailers – died 5-1 in committee Wednesday after hours of testimony from booze peddlers who fear big boxes will put them out of business if permitted to compete.
Coloradoans have their state’s Prohibition-era lawmakers, and the odd web of liquor interests it created, to thank for their current inability to pick up a bottle of Pinot Noir and groceries in one stop. You can read up on your history here.
A bill allowing Sunday sales, S.B. 82, still has a chance, and is now sitting with the finance committee. Of course, liquor stores have always resisted the right to sell on Sundays in the past – not wanting to give up their day of rest.
