2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 12 - Professions and Occupations
General - Continued
Article 47 - Alcohol Beverages
Part 6 - Disciplinary Actions
§ 12-47-601. Suspension - revocation - fines

(1) In addition to any other penalties prescribed by this article or article 46 or 48 of this title, the state or any local licensing authority has the power, on its own motion or on complaint, after investigation and public hearing at which the licensee shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard, to suspend or revoke any license or permit issued by such authority for any violation by the licensee or by any of the agents, servants, or employees of such licensee of the provisions of this article, or any of the rules or regulations authorized pursuant to this article or of any of the terms, conditions, or provisions of the license or permit issued by such authority. Any licensing authority has the power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas to require the presence of persons and the production of papers, books, and records necessary to the determination of any hearing that the licensing authority is authorized to conduct.

(2) Notice of suspension or revocation, as well as any required notice of such hearing, shall be given by mailing the same in writing to the licensee at the address contained in such license or permit. No such suspension shall be for a longer period than six months. If any license or permit is suspended or revoked, no part of the fees paid therefor shall be returned to the licensee. Any license or permit may be summarily suspended by the issuing licensing authority without notice pending any prosecution, investigation, or public hearing. Nothing in this section shall prevent the summary suspension of such license or permit for a temporary period of not more than fifteen days.

(3) (a) Whenever a decision of the state or any local licensing authority suspending a license or permit becomes final, whether by failure of the licensee to appeal the decision or by exhaustion of all appeals and judicial review, the licensee may, before the operative date of the suspension, petition for permission to pay a fine in lieu of the license or permit suspension for all or part of the suspension period. Upon the receipt of the petition, the state or the local licensing authority may, in its sole discretion, stay the proposed suspension and cause any investigation to be made that it deems desirable and may, in its sole discretion, grant the petition if it is satisfied that:

(I) The public welfare and morals would not be impaired by permitting the licensee to operate during the period set for suspension and that the payment of the fine will achieve the desired disciplinary purposes; and

(II) The books and records of the licensee are kept in such a manner that the loss of sales of alcohol beverages that the licensee would have suffered had the suspension gone into effect can be determined with reasonable accuracy.

(III) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2014.)

(b) The fine accepted shall be the equivalent to twenty percent of the licensee's estimated gross revenues from sales of alcohol beverages during the period of the proposed suspension; except that the fine shall be not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.

(c) Payment of any fine pursuant to the provisions of this subsection (3) shall be in the form of cash or in the form of a certified check or cashier's check made payable to the state or local licensing authority, whichever is appropriate.

(4) Upon payment of the fine pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the state or the local licensing authority shall enter its further order permanently staying the imposition of the suspension. If the fine is paid to a local licensing authority, the governing body of the authority shall cause such moneys to be paid into the general fund of the local licensing authority. Fines paid to the state licensing authority pursuant to subsection (3) of this section shall be transmitted to the state treasurer who shall credit the same to the general fund.

(5) In connection with any petition pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the authority of the state or local licensing authority is limited to the granting of such stays as are necessary for it to complete its investigation and make its findings and, if it makes such findings, to the granting of an order permanently staying the imposition of the entire suspension or that portion of the suspension not otherwise conditionally stayed.

(6) If the state or the local licensing authority does not make the findings required in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section and does not order the suspension permanently stayed, the suspension shall go into effect on the operative date finally set by the state or the local licensing authority.

(7) The provisions of subsections (3) to (6) of this section shall be effective and may be implemented by the state licensing authority upon its decision to accept and adopt the optional procedures set forth in said subsections. The provisions of subsections (3) to (6) of this section shall be effective and may be implemented by a local licensing authority only after the governing body of the municipality, the governing body of the city and county, or the board of county commissioners of the county chooses to do so and acts, by appropriate resolution or ordinance, to accept and adopt the optional procedures set forth in said subsections. Any such actions may be revoked in a similar manner.

(8) Each local licensing authority shall report all actions taken to impose fines, suspensions, and revocations to the state licensing authority in a manner as required by the state licensing authority. No later than January 15 of each year, a report of the preceding year's actions in which fines, suspensions, or revocations were imposed by local licensing authorities and by the state licensing authority shall be compiled by the state licensing authority. One copy of said report shall be filed with the chief clerk of the house of representatives, one copy shall be filed with the secretary of the senate, and six copies shall be filed in the joint legislative library.

(9) When penalizing a vendor who has violated provisions of article 46 of this title and this article that prohibit the service of an alcohol beverage to a minor or a visibly intoxicated person, state and local licensing authorities shall consider it a mitigating factor if the vendor is a responsible alcohol beverage vendor as defined by part 10 of this article. In addition, the state licensing authority by rule may include other violations of article 46 of this title and this article that licensing authorities shall consider for mitigation if the vendor qualifies as a responsible alcohol beverage vendor.