What is Colorado Proposition 126: Third-party delivery of alcohol beverages

Proposition 126 would allow stores that sell alcohol to deliver libations through third-party companies, such as grocery or meal delivery services. It would also permanently allow take-out and delivery alcohol by bars and restaurants, an allowance otherwise set to expire in 2025.

Stores with alcohol licenses can already deliver alcohol to customers, though they need to do so with their own employees and in accordance with restrictions on their licenses.

Under the proposition, the third parties would still need to obtain a delivery permit. Employees delivering the alcohol would need to be 21 or older, certified. Like purchases at storefronts, they’d also need to verify the recipient’s age and refuse delivery to people too young or who already appear intoxicated. The third-party service would be liable for any violations once they take possession of the alcohol.

The proposition made the ballot through the petition process. It needs a simple majority of support from voters to pass.

The case for: Grocery and meal delivery has become an expected convenience, and allowing third-party contractors will allow more stores and restaurants to provide that service.

The case against: Alcohol delivery lacks the safeguards against sales to minors that come with buying it in stores or restaurants. Retailers would no longer be liable for any violations, and enforcement of third-party delivery laws could be more difficult.

Ballot question: “Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning authorization for the third-party delivery of alcohol beverages, and, in connection therewith, allowing retail establishments licensed to sell alcohol beverages for on-site or off-site consumption to deliver all types of alcohol beverages to a person twenty-one years of age or older through a third-party delivery service that obtains a delivery service permit; prohibiting the delivery of alcohol beverages to a person who is under 21 years of age, is intoxicated, or fails to provide proof of identification; removing the limit on the percentage of gross sales revenues a licensee may receive from alcohol beverage deliveries; and allowing a technology services company, without obtaining a third-party delivery service permit, to provide software or a digital network application that connects consumers and licensed retailers for the delivery of alcohol beverages?”