Help to protect local businesses by voting NO on Propositions 124, 125, and 126.

Today, we are sharing a message circulated by our friend Chris Fine, executive director for Colorado Licensed Beverage Association. Please vote NO on Propositions 124, 125, and 126. Thank you for your support.

Help us fight for our industry: Support Keeping Colorado Local!

As you are probably aware, Propositions 124, 125, and 126 have made the November Ballot. Passage of these propositions would be devastating to local liquor stores and I urge you to support our cause. As a member of our industry, you should be gravely concerned. 

Proposition 124, authored by the national chain Total Liquor & More and funded by a Congressman from Maryland, would allow liquor to expand their numbers dramatically. It proposes individual licensees can expand to as many as eight locations by 2026, 13 between 2027 and 2032, 19 between 2033 and 2037 and an unlimited number after that. This proposition creates a disadvantage for locally owned liquor stores that do not have the capitol or capacity to easily expand like large liquor store chains. 

Proposition 125, if passed, it would automatically convert all beer only licenses to beer and wine licenses. What that means is that any location that currently sells beer would be able to sell wine also. That is an across the state change with no local approval of licensing. It circumvents the local licensing authority’s needs assessment and approval process. 
 
Finally, Proposition 126, being driven by Amazon, DoorDash, Instacart, etc., is promoting third-party delivery of alcohol. This is dangerous for Colorado communities. This initiative allows individuals that do not hold liquor licenses to deliver alcohol. This would enable them to break the rules around the safe sale and delivery of alcohol (i.e., preventing serving minors, intoxicated individuals etc.) without the severe penalties that a liquor licensed business would face.
 
If passed, what will these initiatives do?

– Over ½ of Colorado’s local family-owned liquor stores could go out of business. 
– Craft distillers, breweries and wineries will no longer have the support, distribution and sales provided by independent liquor stores. This means “big national brands” will dominate the market. 
– Take control of liquor licensing out of the hands of local towns and municipalities. 
– Create dangerous public safety hazards
– Large grocery and liquor store chains will set store shelves and negotiate nationally limiting opportunities for small brands and new products and decreasing margins.
– Hundreds of jobs will be lost in the craft beverage industry including production, sales, distribution, and tourism.

We are asking for your support and help in defeating these ballot initiatives by Supporting Keeping Colorado Local. The mission of Keeping Colorado Local is to preserve Colorado businesses. Simply put, these large out-of-state companies are certainly not concerned with “consumer convenience” as they claim. They are motivated by greed, and simply want to pad profits.

How can you help?

Please talk to your family and colleagues about the consequences of these ballot initiatives and ask them to VOTE NO on 124, 125, and 126, any proposition that wants to change Colorado liquor laws.