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Every day, decisions are made at the State Capitol in Denver that can change the outlook for business owners throughout Colorado. You don’t have time to monitor every debate, discussion, and proposal that develops in the legislature – we do it for you.

Alcohol To Go

The CRA Government Affairs team and former CRA Chair Scott Engelman with Governor Jared Polis at the signing of the Alcohol to Go bill in 2021.

The CRA’s legislative priorities are determined by our members, the restaurateurs and vendor allies who form the CRA Board of Directors, the Boards for our eight statewide chapters, and the legislative committee that votes on the issues relevant to our advocacy efforts. These individuals represent all elements of the local hospitality industry, from single-unit independent restaurants on the Western Slope to multi-unit chain concepts on the eastern plains and everything in between.

Join us today and raise your voice for our industry.

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Remember, if you’re not at the table, your business is likely on the legislative menu.

Top 2023 Advocacy Wins

Restrictive Scheduling Defeated

We fought fiercely to defeat HB23-1118, a one-of-a-kind restrictive scheduling bill that would have dramatically changed scheduling laws in the restaurant industry, costing restaurants thousands of dollars a year and opening them up to even more costly litigation. The voices of both CRA member restaurants and their employees, who were concerned that the restrictions would reduce scheduling flexibility and hours, helped legislators understand the negative impact the bill would have.

Prevented Burdensome Mandates on Restaurants

We worked with the sponsors of legislation aimed at products misrepresented as compostable to ensure that restaurants that are not manufacturing these products aren’t burdened with penalties when the products are labeled incorrectly.

Stopped Unprecedented Changes to Workers’ Compensation Laws

We worked closely with a large part of the business community to prevent a law from being introduced that would have completely changed worker’s compensation law and would have had an unknown effect on premium rates for businesses.

Issues Affecting Colorado Restaurants in 2024

  • Inflation
  • Staffing shortages, workforce development
  • Protecting the tip credit
  • Supply chain disruptions
  • Labor, wage & hour law
  • Housing & transportation
  • Health & wellness
  • Taxes & tax incentives
  • Liquor regulations
  • Small-business development
  • Tourism
  • ADA
  • Licensing
  • Sustainability
  • Immigration
  • Cannabis regulations
  • Food code

Bills We’re Tracking in 2024

The CRA Government Affairs team fights every day to protect your businesses’ interests at all levels of government. Below you can learn about the bills that relate to the restaurant industry that we are actively engaged in or monitoring during the 2024 State Legislative Session.

Local Control of Tip Credit

This bill would have given local governments in Colorado the power to eliminate the $3.02 per hour tip credit that operators use to offset wages for front-of-house, tipped workers. It would only have allowed for decreases or elimination of the tip credit, which would have had significant negative repercussions for the hospitality industry.

CRA Position

Oppose

Sponsors

Representatives Mabrey and Ricks; Senator Winter

Status

DEAD BEFORE INTRODUCTION. The bill sponsor let the CRA know that he will not introduce this bill after all because he did not have the support required to pass it. In fact, Rep. Mabrey specifically cited the concerns and outreach from the CRA and its members as the reasons for his decision to not move forward with the bill.

Thank you to everyone who emailed, called, and met with elected officials to voice opposition to this bill. We couldn’t have beaten it at this early stage without you!

Alcohol Beverage Delivery & Takeout (SB24-020)

SB24-020, which the Colorado Restaurant Association wrote with the bill’s sponsors, would make the current law allowing alcohol-beverage delivery and takeout permanent, by removing the current law’s July 2025 expiration date.

CRA Position

Support

Sponsors

Senators Roberts and Hinrichsen; Representatives Lindstedt and Pugliese

Status

This bill unanimously passed through the Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee on February 1, and passed the Senate Finance committee on February 6. On March 8, it passed out of Senate Appropriations on a 7 – 2 vote. It passed out the Senate with only two no votes on March 15.

Alcohol Impact & Recovery Enterprise (SB24-181)

SB24-181 creates the Colorado alcohol impact and recovery enterprise in the department of revenue to:

  • Collect a fee from manufacturers and wholesalers that distribute alcohol within Colorado; and
  • Use the fee for alcohol and related substance use disorder prevention, early intervention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services and programs in communities throughout the state.

The bill exempts small manufacturers and wholesale distributors of alcohol based on production and distribution level amounts for which a manufacturer or distributor may pay reduced tax or claim an exemption under federal law.

The bill also:

  • Creates the alcohol impact enterprise board and specifies membership and duties of the board; and
  • Requires the state auditor to conduct an audit of the enterprise in the 2030-31 state fiscal year and every fourth state fiscal year thereafter.

The bill also exempts the enterprise from the prohibition on an enterprise receiving more than $100,000,000 in revenue in fees in the enterprise’s first 5 fiscal years without first receiving voter approval.

CRA Position

Monitor

Sponsors

Senators Priola and Hansen; Representatives Kennedy & Amabile

Status

Introduced in mid-March.

Alcohol Beverage Retail Licensees (HB24-1373)

SB24-1373 concerns persons licensed to sell alcohol beverages, and, in connection therewith, eliminating the liquor-licensed drugstore license, updating the requirements for wholesalers, removing the cap on the amount of alcohol beverages a retailer can purchase from retail liquor stores, requiring a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer to display alcohol beverages in a single location on the retailer’s sales floor, expanding certain licensees’ ability to deliver alcohol to certain other licensees, and prohibiting a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer from selling alcohol beverages with greater than fourteen percent alcohol by volume.

CRA bill summary

CRA Position

Monitor

Sponsors

Senators Roberts & Will; Representatives Amabile & Ricks

Status

Introduced in mid-March.

Workers' Compensation Disability Benefits (HB24-1220)

HB24-1220 concerns disability benefits for workers’ compensation injuries, and allows a claimant to refuse an offer of modified employment under certain circumstances, adding the loss of an ear to the list of whole person permanent impairment benefits; replacing the two aggregate limits on temporary and permanent injury benefits with one limit adjusted annually by the director of the division of workers’ compensation; and requiring a workers’ compensation insurer to pay benefits to a claimant by direct deposit upon request.

CRA Position

Monitor

Sponsors

Representative Daugherty; Senator Marchman

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to the House Business Affairs & Labor committee. On February 29, the bill passed that committee and has been assigned to House Appropriations.

Credential Quality Apprenticeship Classification (SB24-143)

HB24-143 concerns credential-assessment tools and integrating frameworks for nondegree credential evaluation and classification into state education and workforce systems and aligning stackable credential pathways and apprenticeship programs with international classification standards.

CRA Position

Amend/Monitor

Sponsors

Senators Coleman and Zenzinger; Representative Herod

Status

The CRA worked to get an amendment that was added during committee to ensure industry associations are specifically named as stakeholders. On February 21, this bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee as amended, on a 6-1 vote. Assigned to Senate Appropriations.

Prohibition Against Employee Discipline (HB24-1260)

HB24-1260 prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to listen to speech or communications concerning religious or political manners including concerning labor union organization (i.e., prohibits “captive audience” meetings). The bill also creates a private right of action for employees who feel their rights under the bill have been violated.

CRA Position

Monitor

Sponsors

Representatives Duran and Hernandez

Status

This bill has been introduced.

Regenerative Agriculture Tax Credit (SB24-152)

SB24-152 concerns an income tax credit for qualifying food-and-beverage retailers (and restaurants) that source ingredients from local producers practicing regenerative agriculture.

CRA Position

Support

Sponsors

Senators Simpson and Roberts; Representative McCormick

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee. The CRA testified in support and the bill passed that committee unanimously on March 7.

PFAS & PFAS Chemicals (SB24-081)

SB24-081 would ban the sale and distribution of many products that include added PFAS chemicals, including food packaging in January 2032 and cookware in January 2025.

CRA Position

Amend

Sponsors

Senator Cutter; Representatives Kipp and Rutinel

Status

This bill was introduced in the Business, Labor, & Technology Committee on February 13. The CRA submitted an amendment that would exempt commercial-grade food equipment certified by the National Science Foundation/American National Standards Institute (NSF/ANSI) from both the 2025 and 2032 prohibitions. The bill was rescheduled for the Business, Labor, & Technology Committee for March 12.

The CRA testified in an “amend” position on March 12 when the bill passed out of committee as amended on a 5-2 vote.

Scheduled for Senate floor work on March 18.

Increasing Protections for Minor Workers (HB24-1095)

HB24-1095 increases various penalty amounts for violations of the Youth Employment Act and indexes those increases to inflation. It also requires the Department of Labor to publicly publish the final order in any violation with the clerk of the court and make the information available via public-record request (with certain protections for the minors personal identifying information).

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Representatives Lieder and Amabile; Senator Sullivan

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Business Affairs & Labor on February 15.

Lodging Property Tax Treatment (SB23-033)

SB24-033 would change the tax treatment of short-term rentals rented for more than 90 days per year from residential to commercial rates.

CRA Position

Oppose. The CRA was asked to formally oppose this bill by the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, and we have conferred with CRA members in our resort community chapters, who have all voiced concern and opposition to the bill.

Sponsors

Senator Hansen; Representative Weissman

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Senate Finance on February 20.

Substance Use Disorders Recovery (SB24-048)

SB24-048 concerns recovery from substance-use disorders, including provisions that limit where liquor-licensed drug stores and fermented malt beverage and wine retailers may display products containing alcohol.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Senator Priola; Representatives Kennedy and Lynch

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology on February 8.

Workplace Suicide Prevention Education (HB24-1015)

HB24-1015 would require the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment to create and make available to employers suicide-prevention education posters and notices for their workplaces, in addition to requirements that suicide-prevention education be added to handbooks and other notices given to employees.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Senator Michelsen-Jenet; Representative Vigil

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Business Affairs & Labor and Appropriations, where it is under consideration.

Deceptive Trade Practice Significant Impact Standard (HB24-1014)

HB24-1014 concerns the elimination of a judicially created requirement that a significant number of consumers be harmed before remedies may be available under the “Colorado Consumer Protection Act.”

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Representatives Weissman, Mabrey; Senator Gonzales

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to the Judiciary Committee on February 7.

Local Government Authority to Regulate Pesticides (HB24-1178)

HB24-1178 concerns local government authority to regulate pesticides.

CRA Position

Monitoring, with potential to oppose.

Sponsors

Representatives Kipp and Froelich; Senators Cutter and Jaquez-Lewis

Status

This bill has been introduced and assigned to Energy & Environment.

Disclose Mandatory Fees in Advertisements (HB24-1151)

HB24-1151 concerns prohibiting certain consumer transactions that do not include all mandatory charges.

CRA Position

Monitoring. The CRA GA team has a meeting with the Attorney General’s office this week because they have flagged a concern with the language we had included in the introduced version of the bill. We have not been given specifics about their concerns but will report back when we know more.

Sponsors

Representative Ricks

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee on January 30. The CRA has a meeting with the Attorney General (AG) and the bill sponsor to learn more about the AG’s specific concerns during the week of February 26.

Protections for Delivery Network Company Drivers (HB24-1129)

HB24-1129 concerns protections for drivers engaged with delivery network companies (DNC), including requiring a DNC operating in the state to provide various disclosures to its drivers and to consumers of the DNC regarding payments that a consumer makes to the DNC and the amount that the DNC then pays to a driver.

The bill also requires a DNC to provide specified disclosures to the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Department of Labor & Employment regarding the DNC’s operations in the state. The division shall make this information available to the public.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Representatives Vigil and Mabrey

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Business Affairs & Labor on February 15.

Chamber of Commerce Alcohol Special Event Permit (HB24-1156)

HB24-1156 concerns authorization for holding special events where substances prohibited to minors are served.

CRA Position

Monitoring. Waiting to hear from Liquor Enforcement Division as to why this bill is necessary.

Sponsors

Representatives Harstook and Lindstedt; Senator Smallwood

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to House Business Affairs & Labor.

Maximum Number of Employees to Qualify as Small Employer (HB24-073)

HB24-073 changes the definition of a small employer for the purposes of purchasing health insurance from 100 employees or more to 50 employees or more.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Senators Smallwood and Rodriguez; Representative Velasco

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Health & Human Services.

Overdose Protection Centers (HB24-1028)

HB24-1028 specifies that the governing body of a municipality, which includes a city, town, and city and county, may authorize the operation of an overdose prevention center within the municipality’s boundaries for the purpose of saving the lives of persons at risk of preventable overdoses.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Representative Epps; Senator Priola

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Health & Human Services.

Prohibit Attorney Fees on Personal Injury Interest (SB24-062)

SB24-062 concerns the current law permitting a plaintiff in a personal injury case stemming from a tort to claim interest at a rate of 9% on the damages alleged from the date the action accrued until the date the judgment is satisfied. Beginning July 1, 2024, the bill would prohibit a plaintiff’s attorney from collecting attorney contingency fees based on that portion of the ultimate damages award attributable to the 9% interest.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Senator Gardner

Status

This bill was introduced and assigned to Judiciary.

Reducation of State Income Tax Rate (HB24-1065)

HB24-1065 reduces both the individual and the corporate state income-tax rates from 4.40% to 4.0%. The bill also exempts the rate reductions from the existing statutory requirements that tax expenditure legislation include a tax preference performance statement in a statutory legislative declaration and repeal after a specified period of tax years.

CRA Position

Monitoring

Sponsors

Representatives Bottoms and Pugliese; Senator Kirkmeyer

Status

The bill was introduced and assigned to House Finance.

As the leading restaurant advocacy organization in Colorado, the CRA is your go-to source for industry information. If you are a member of the media or the legislature and want to learn more about how the above bills or issues impact restaurants, we are here to help!

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