Public Meeting on Public Hearings Changes and Updates

Excise and Licenses (EXL) will be holding a public meeting on Monday, September 17th to discuss updates to the posting signs that notify residents of liquor and marijuana license hearings, online electronic petitioning for liquor and marijuana license hearings, and other updates to the hearings policies and procedures. The meeting will be from 6:00pm – 8:00pm, in Room 4.G.2 of the Webb Municipal Building, 201 W Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80202.

The Colorado Liquor Code requires EXL to consider the needs and desires of the neighborhood in its review of liquor license applications and city ordinances require the same consideration for marijuana stores and centers. Evidence of needs and desires generally comes in two forms: live testimony at the administrative hearing or paper petitions. Both forms can be in favor of or opposition to the license. We are making some changes to help increase public participation in these types of hearings and other changes to our general policies.
The changes that will be discussed include:
1. Updating Postings

To increase the reach of notice to the community, we are modifying the language on the signs that are used to notify residents of the applications and hearings. We will update the language to make it more understandable, simplify the format on the signs, include a website link on the posting, and make the posting available in Spanish. This change is due to take effect in about 6 months.

2. Online Petitions

Currently, citizens generally access petitions in one of two limited means: they happen to be home when a petition circulator knocks on their door; or, they attend a neighborhood meeting where a petition is circulated. This process will remain in effect and proponents for or opponents against a license can continue to use paper petitions. However, we will now be offering the option of an online petition system to provide an effective, easy way for citizens to voice their opinion about a liquor or marijuana license. This too is scheduled to take effect in about 6 months, depending on technology issues and solutions.

Electronic petitioning has been shown to increase public participation. Benefits include:

• Access to and by a broader population of voters
• Heightened integrity of the petition “signing” process and greater security than current physical signing process
• The opportunity to review some of the application information and access to a map of the proposed location and the ability to see where other licenses are in that area • Improved efficiency, and reduced burden on administrative staff
• The ability to sign at any time from any place

3. Updated Hearing Policies and Procedures

At the meeting, we will also review the updated Hearing Policies and Procedures (HPPs) and a process for feedback over the first year of implementation. We anticipate annually reviewing the HPPs for changes and revisions as necessary. HPPs are not “law” or “rules” that require a public hearing before changes can be made, so we can be as responsive and as nimble in making changes as is needed.

Although HPPs can be changed at the discretion of EXL, we have gone through a thorough public process with this version which included convening a diverse work group to develop draft HPPs; meeting with stakeholders; posting the draft HPPs; soliciting written comments; and, holding a public hearing. We have studied and evaluated the input and recommendations and have made some changes to the HPPs based on that input.

The changes are summarized below.

•  Compromise

As a steward of taxpayer dollars, EXL has an interest in efficiently and effectively processing all business licenses. The vast majority of liquor and marijuana applications are uncontested and these rules allow for speedy resolution of those cases. However, where a license is contested, we want to ensure that the community has the opportunity to express any objections to the application and that all parties involved are treated fairly. Some of the areas where we have revised the HPPs based on feedback include:

•  Commencement of circulation of petitions – The current HPPs provide that petitions may not be circulated before the second day of posting. The previously posted draft HPPs proposed that petitioning be allowed to begin on the day the Notice Packet is sent. The final HPPs now provide that petitioning may begin one day after posting.
•  Number of signatures required to request an evening hearing – The current HPPs require at least 10 valid signatures to request an evening hearing. The previously posted draft HPPs proposed increasing that to at least 25 valid signatures. The adopted HPPs will require 15 signatures.
•  Scheduling of an evening hearing – The current HPPs require that the rescheduled date be “as close as possible to the previously scheduled hearing date.” The previously posted draft HPPs recommended that the rules provide some definitive outer date for rescheduling so that an application is not delayed unreasonably. The adopted rules maintain that policy direction but give the department some flexibility if needed by providing that the Department “will make best efforts to reschedule the evening hearing” within the timeframe.

 Convenience

We have also made changes to the HPPs that we hope will make them more user friendly. For example, due to the law evolving over years, individuals who can testify at needs and desires hearings varies depending on the license type. We have included a chart along with the definition of “Parties in Interest” in Section 1.2 to help everyone quickly asses who can testify at a hearing. Similarly, we have included a list of which liquor license categories do not require a hearing under state law.

We have already made some operational changes based on public input. These include the following:

•  Notice Packets – As a revised operational policy, EXL has been sending the same Notice Packets to all parties (we used to send out slightly different packets), and continues to redact any confidential information contained in the application letter.
•  Opposition Petitions and Night Hearing Petitions – Previously, EXL did not send the opposition petitions and night hearing petitions unless a party decided they wanted to oppose and affirmatively requested them. Based on public input, we will be sending them automatically on applications received after 9/10/18 to reduce additional effort and delay that may arise from a party having to request them.
•  Scheduling Orders and Applicant Letters – Scheduling Orders and Applicant Letters will be included in the Notice Packets and will include all relevant specific dates for such things as posting, commencing petitioning, filing petitions, etc.

You might also notice that the final HPPs are longer than the posted draft HPPs. Although consolidation of the HPPs seemed to make sense, in the end it actually made the HPPs less clear. Slight variations in the law related to processes for each license type or licensing action (new application, renewal, transfer of location, transfer of ownership, show cause) required numerous exceptions to general policies and procedures or required the reader to refer back and forth to different sections. Now each license type and license action has its own standalone section.

 Complete

Finally, the new HPPs are significantly more complete than the current HPPs or the posted draft HPPs. The new HPPs cover more licensing actions than just needs and desires hearings and provide specific procures for disciplinary proceedings and application denials. In the past, the parties simply borrowed the process from the liquor needs and desires hearings. The new HPPs also provide the process for marijuana licenses, including the new social consumption licenses. Now we have formal HPPs that apply to specific license types and specific license actions so that all involved know ahead of time of the exact hearing policies and procedures.

ORIGINAL FOUND HERE

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT HERE

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT HERE

Differences between EXL DRAFT HPP 3-21-17-1.pdf and HPP_Draft_4-14-2017-1.pdf

Page 2  4-14 draft, Article II – Provisions Applicable to all Hearings, section 2.06 – Unlicensed Practice of Law reflects page 11, 

draft 3-21 reflects page 10 – 4-14 is correct cite to page 11.

DOWNLOAD DOCUMENT HERE