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SB 25-033

Prohibit New Liquor-Licensed Drug Stores

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Judy Amabile and 28 co-sponsors

Prohibits issuing new liquor-licensed drugstore licenses in Colorado, while preserving renewals for existing licensees and tightening transfers, ownership, and definition rules.

Governor Signed
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Bill Summary · SB 25-033

SB 25-033 — Prohibit New Liquor‑Licensed Drugstores

Status: Governor signed (effective April 10, 2025)
Introduced: January 8, 2025 — Sponsors: Sen. Amabile, D. Roberts; Reps. N. Ricks, R. Weinberg

Purpose / Intent

The act stops the expansion of Colorado's liquor‑licensed drugstore (LLDS) category by prohibiting issuance of any new LLDS licenses while preserving limited rights for existing licensees. It also tightens ownership and transfer rules and creates an explicit definition for “independent pharmacy.”

Key provisions

  • Prohibition on new licenses
    • State and local licensing authorities are no longer permitted to issue any new liquor‑licensed drugstore licenses on and after the bill’s effective date.
  • Renewal preserved
    • Existing LLDS licensees may continue to renew their licenses under current renewal rules.
  • Transfer / relocation / conversion restrictions
    • Generally prohibits a licensee from changing the license location, merging, selling, converting, or otherwise transferring an LLDS.
    • Exception for older independent‑pharmacy licenses: a license that was issued to an independent pharmacy before January 1, 2025 cannot be relocated or merged/converted but may be sold or transferred to another independent pharmacy licensee or to a person who does not already hold an LLDS license.
  • Ownership cap
    • An owner, part owner, shareholder, or person with a direct or indirect interest in an LLDS may not have an interest in more than eight LLDS licenses.
  • Independent pharmacy defined
    • “Independent pharmacy” means a prescription drug outlet privately owned by at least one licensed pharmacist with no ownership interest by or affiliation with a chain or publicly owned pharmacy.
  • Tastings
    • The enacted statute preserves the ability to conduct tastings only where the applicable local licensing authority has expressly authorized them (alignment with existing local authority/tasting rules).

Who is affected

  • Existing LLDS licensees (36 current licensees cited in fiscal analyses) — can renew but face new limits on transfers, relocations, conversions, and expanded ownership.
  • Prospective LLDS applicants (pharmacies, grocery chains with pharmacies) — barred from obtaining new LLDS licenses.
  • Independent pharmacies — defined and granted limited transfer/sale exceptions if their LLDS was issued before Jan 1, 2025.
  • Licensing authorities (local and Colorado Department of Revenue Liquor Enforcement Division) — will implement rule changes and communications.
  • Counties and municipalities that collect local liquor license fees.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • State revenue: modest reduction in cash‑fund revenue to the Liquor Enforcement Division Cash Fund because fewer new licenses will be issued. Legislative Council and JBC estimates:
    • FY 2025‑26: –$5,480 (assumes 4 fewer new licenses after effective date)
    • FY 2026‑27: –$26,030 (assumes 19 fewer new licenses)
    • Average new LLDS license fee used in estimate: $1,370.
  • State workload: minimal net change — some increased work for rulemaking, outreach, and enforcement; offset by reduced processing of new applications. No new appropriation required.
  • TABOR: decreased fee revenue reduces TABOR refund obligations by the same amounts, increasing available General Fund dollars by those sums.
  • Local governments: may see minor declines in local license fee revenues.

Procedure / timeline

  • Introduced in Senate Jan 8, 2025; passed both chambers with amendments during February–March 2025; transmitted to Governor April 3, 2025; signed April 10, 2025. Effective date per fiscal note: April 10, 2025.

For more detailed statutory text, see Colorado Revised Statutes §44‑3‑103 and §44‑3‑410 as amended by the act.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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