Establish a state-supported liquor retailer investment fund for local independent retailers that are facing financial difficulties because of the sudden changes in liquor laws. This fund could provide access to capital, lines of credit, connections to investors and other vital business resources to help retailers navigate the significant headwinds facing their stores.

Explore a special investment program or fund to promote new store ownership in underserved communities. 

Allow the purchase of permitted alcohol products from one retailer to another under limited circumstances. Because of the enormous distances in Colorado rural and mountain communities, retailers sometimes need products that a distributor is unable to furnish. Retailers should have the ability to source products from other retailers when such circumstances arise.

Expand the number of licenses a single liquor retail owner can hold beyond the current limit of four. The artificially created limit of four licenses severely impedes retailers from either acquiring licenses to form a stronger buying group or selling their license to entities that want to create their own retail group. Moving to multi-license ownership is especially critical given the fact that grocery and convenience stores can hold as many licenses as desired to sell beer and wine, and that the Colorado pharmacy license will soon permit big box stores like Walmart and Target to sell all forms of alcohol in any store with a pharmacy license. The current licensing structure gives an outrageously major advantage to out-of-state big box retailers against our local liquor stores.

Allow retailers to conduct product educational classes in their stores. This would give retailers more flexibility to implement creative marketing ideas and increase customer engagement.

Make the rules surrounding product tastings in stores less restrictive. This allows retailers to be more creative in how they conduct tastings got give customers more exposure to new products, especially those from Colorado craft producers.

Extend the renewal term of licensing from one year to two, so that retailers aren’t required to go through the costly and time-consuming license renewal process every year. This would not affect the yearly licensing fee, which retailers would still be required to pay.

Give local governments the power to approve a new application for a local retail liquor license without a public hearing if no objections to the application have been filed.

Increase funding for Colorado’s Division of Liquor Enforcement, which is currently drastically under-resourced. Sufficient funding of DLE will better ensure that our liquor laws are being followed, and that our local liquor stores and their customers are being protected.