Proposed legislation aims to extend alcohol serving times in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new bill introduced in the House Committee, HB-1142 sponsored by El Paso County Democratic Representative Marc Snyder, aims to extend service hours for businesses who have a liquor license.

If passed, a business would have to apply for an extended service hours permit. If granted, they would be able to operate between the 10 hours of 5 A.M. and 2 A.M., or between the hours of 7 A.M. and 4 A.M., but not both.

However, the bill is getting some pushback.

“We are very concerned about this legislation," Fran Lanzer with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) said. "We think it would create a lot of stress on our law enforcement officers that are out there trying to keep our roads safe….”

Lanzer, the Executive Director for MADD, says they are opposing this legislation for several reasons. One of the biggest, for safety.

“We need to be doing more to keep our roads safe but this bill moves us in the wrong direction,” he said.

Lanzer says in 2021, Colorado saw a historic surge in traffic fatalities with 253 lives taken by impaired drivers — the highest total since 2001.

And just the last two years, suspected impairment fatalities have increased by 44 percent according to the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) fatal crash data.

The next action for this legislation will be on Wednesday for a bill hearing.