DENVER -- Changes to Colorado's monopoly law that governs gasoline prices would not apply to rural Colorado, under a change authored by State Senator Jim Isgar (D), reported The Durango Herald.
Gasoline distributors successfully sued a Montrose, Colo., grocery store last year, claiming the King Sooper was selling gasoline below cost. That's not allowed under the state Unfair Practices Act.
Legislators introduced House Bill 1208 to soften the Unfair Practices Act to allow the popular grocery store gas discounts. But independent [image-nocss] gas retailers cried foul, and Isgar managed to amend the bill in the Senate. We had to do something, because the bill was on its way to the governor, he said, according to the report. We're not trying to change current law. We're trying to maintain current law in local areas.
Isgar's amendment says the bill does not apply to counties with fewer than 200,000 residents. Only nine of Colorado's 64 counties have more than 200,000 people, the report said.
The House sponsor said the change gutted her bill. The amendment could eliminate deep discounts for seniors, discounts on everything from haircuts to early bird dinners, said State Representative Cheri Jahn (D). This is legislative desperation doing damage to Colorado families.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers also condemned the change. [The] action by the State Senate has completely changed the original intent of the bill. The legislation was designed to update a 70-year old statute and bring cheaper gas, prescription drugs, and other essential items to Coloradans. Now, it could drive potential competitors from rural areas and dramatically increase prices across the state, he said in a press statement. Not only has this amendment completely undone the good intentions of the original bill, it has actually made the legislation counterproductive. If this bill passes with today's amendment intact, Coloradans in 55 counties will pay higher prices for gas, for prescription drugs and for a litany of other products. No longer can a business sell products below cost for any purposenot to move inventory, not as a loss-leader and not as a means of getting customers in the door.
Click here to view the AG's complete statement.
The bill probably will go to a conference committee, where senators and representatives can negotiate additional changes, Isgar said.
Three rural Republicans joined 17 of the 20 Democrats in voting for Isgar's amendment, according to the Herald.
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