Colorado House Convenes Special Hearing On Beer Sale Reversal

The governor intervened suddenly on the issue of low-strength beer sales.

March 09, 2011

DENVER - Yesterday, the Colorado House held a special hearing to investigate last week€™s action by Gov. John Hickenlooper€™s on low-strength beer regulations, the Denver Post reports. Convenience and grocery stores have been lobbying to eliminate the restrictions on selling full-strength beer. Earlier this year, Sen. Betty Boyd sponsored a bill that would give restaurants permission to offer low-alcohol beer.

Rep. Larry Liston, who chairs the House Economic and Business Development Committee, and Rep. Brian DelGrosso, who chairs the House Finance Committee, convened a joint committee meeting to figure out how the rule was changed and why.

"It looks to me like a bit of an end-run around the legislature," said Boyd of what the governor did. "Whether we like what happened with the (2010) legislation with the labeling and testing (of beer), the rules promulgated should reflect the language of the bill. It would appear to me it (the changed rule) is essentially the opposite of what the intent of the law was."

Hickenlooper, a former microbrewer, interceded with the regulation process of 3.2 beer. On Friday, the state€™s Division of Liquor Enforcement overturned the existing rule that listed which beer brands were low-alcohol and which were not. The new rule does not list those brands, which makes it very difficult to enforce that law. Convenience and grocery stores said the new rule harms their business and benefits liquor stores, microbreweries and restaurants.

The governor claims he was merely helping to simplify the process, not take sides. "All we've done is to try to cut back on the red tape to make sure that both the letter and the spirit of the law are being obeyed," said Hickenlooper.

"Gov. Hickenlooper€™s last hour meddling sent a clear message to restaurants, liquor stores and brew pubs: they do not have to obey the law and can sell beer that is clearly illegal and not authorized by their license," said Mark Larson, executive director of the Colorado and Wyoming Petroleum Marketers, told NACS Daily. "Clearly this is backroom cronyism and heavy-handed intervention done solely for the benefit of special interest friends of the governor that helped get him elected."

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