Eighteen lawmakers rose in support of the bill during the vote count, which was not enough to move the bill forward.
The idea has failed several times in the past, but [image-nocss] Monday's debate was the first time the issue has reached the floor of the legislature, said the report. Colorado is among five states where gas stations, grocery stores and c-stores are only allowed to sell beer with 3.2% alcohol content. Utah, Minnesota, Kansas and Oklahoma are the other states that restrict the sale of full-strength beer at places other than liquor stores.
(Utah is mulling a ban on c-store beer sales. Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.)
State Representative Larry Liston (R), who sponsored House Bill 1284, said he received more than 130,000 signatures in support of the legislation. He said all the supporters want is to be able to have the "simple choice" of where they can buy full-strength beer.
"If they should be filling up their gas tank at a convenience store, they can go in and get their favorite full-strength beer," he said. "Or what about the mother, or you, or the rest of us who might be shopping at the grocery store for friends and family, and your husband or your wife has said, 'Hey, will you remember to pick up a six pack of our favorite full-strength beer for the barbecue tonight?"'
State Rep. Kevin Priola (R), who supported the bill, said it is not about pitting grocery stores, c-stores and liquor stores against each other. "This is about the people," he said. "This is about choice of consumers and what do they want to buy and where do they want to purchase it."
State Rep. Roger Wilson (D) said there is a reason for laws governing alcohol sales. "This will increase the amount of alcohol available to people at places where they shouldn't have it, which is when they're on the road," he said. "If we're going to sign up for the free-market philosophy totally, we would allow sales of alcoholic beverages of any kind anywhere--from your street vendors to your neighbor. It's ridiculous. We control alcohol in this state for a good reason."
Jeanne McEvoy, president and CEO of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, said she hopes the bill's latest defeat will discourage similar proposals in the future. "The liquor environment is not free market in any state," she said. "It's a regulated product, and the citizens want retailers to be very safe and not sell to minors, and they want to maintain the level of jobs that these small businesses offer."
Another proposal in the Senate would allow only c-stores to sell full-strength beer, said the report.
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