By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
Much like a bar regular returning for happy hour, Colorado’s liquor wars are back at the Capitol, beginning this year with another attempt to limit the growth of grocery stores selling a full portfolio of beer, wine and spirits.
Senate Bill 33, which cleared its first committee on Feb. 6 and awaits a hearing Friday before the Senate Appropriations Committee, is the first bill this session to pit varying interests in the alcohol-sales sector against each other, but it may not be the last. And while it got bipartisan support in its first vote, it has a long road ahead of it, much like two liquor-focused bills in 2024 that received early backing only to die late in the session despite numerous attempts to amend them to a consensus satisfaction.