Denver Business Journal — Interest groups made more noise this past legislative session over a bill to put regulations on the coming sale of full-strength beer in grocery and convenience than they did over any other bill this year that involved business interests.
So, it seemed oddly out of place Monday when Gov. John Hickenlooper, a former brewpub owner, announced in a news release that he had signed the bill earlier in the day in the quiet of his office, without a single person to witness the event.
Maybe in some ways the ending was appropriate, for the liquor stores that clamored for the bill when the Legislature gaveled in for its four months of deliberations in January had lost so many battles over provisions in the bill that they said on the final day of the session that they would examine all options, including whether to take legal action to require more regulations.
And the liquor and grocery stores that had sworn they would never let the bill pass had gotten so many things changed that they expressed general pleasure toward Senate Bill 243 when it finally passed on May 9.
Read more at the Denver Business Journal: https://bit.ly/2HjPoFW
