SB 25-285: Updating Food Establishment Inspection Fees - Colorado

Revised (05/02/2025) → PA1 (04/25/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the annual fee schedule for retail food establishments in Colorado to cover health and safety inspection costs. The revision adds new fee categories for grocery stores, grocery stores with delis, and retail food establishments at temporary living quarters for oil and gas workers, while also updating the specific dollar amounts and fee tiers based on square footage.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new fee categories for grocery stores, grocery stores with delis, and retail food establishments at temporary living quarters for oil and gas workers, which were not previously specified in the fee schedule.

SCOPE

Added a new fee category for grocery stores with delis, establishing separate fee tiers based on square footage.

Added a new fee category for retail food establishments offering food at temporary living quarters for workers associated with oil and gas operations.

FISCAL

Updated annual fee amounts for existing categories and added new fee amounts for 2026, 2027, and 2028.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific square footage thresholds for grocery stores and grocery stores with delis to determine applicable fees.

Rerevised (05/03/2025) → Revised (05/02/2025) · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was revised to update the formatting of the second house amendments and to add a new fee schedule for limited food service establishments. This change expands the fee structure to include a specific category for limited food service establishments with tiered annual fees based on seating capacity, effective starting January 1, 2026.

Scope change

The bill now applies annual fees to a new category of businesses: limited food service establishments, in addition to existing categories.

FISCAL

Added a new fee schedule for limited food service establishments with annual fees ranging from $481 to $826 depending on seating capacity and year.

TECHNICAL

Updated the header text to reflect that amendments were adopted on second reading rather than third reading unamended.

Reformatted the list of House sponsors to align with the revised version.

Final Act (05/13/2025) → Rerevised (05/03/2025) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the fee schedule for retail food establishments in Colorado, replacing temporary fee provisions that expired on December 31, 2025, with a new multi-year fee structure extending through 2028 and beyond. The changes establish specific annual fees for different types of food businesses (restaurants, caterers, grocery stores, mobile food establishments, and limited food service establishments) based on seating capacity or square footage.

TIMELINE

Replaced temporary fee schedule (January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2025) with permanent annual fees starting January 1, 2026, through 2028 and beyond

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for five categories of retail food establishments: Caterer, Grocery Store, Grocery Store with Deli, Limited Food Service Establishment, Mobile Food Establishment, and Restaurant

FISCAL

Established specific annual fee amounts for 2026, 2027, and 2028 that vary by business type and size (seating capacity for restaurants/caterers; square footage for grocery stores and mobile establishments)

Removed temporary fee provisions that had expired on December 31, 2025, including special provisions for oil and gas worker living quarters and temporary event fees

REQUIREMENT

Updated fee assessment requirements to apply to all retail food establishments in the state, with counties and districts allowed to establish lower fees if they comply with state health standards

Signed Act (05/30/2025) → Final Act (05/13/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted to prepare it for official signing, with the primary substantive change being the addition of a repeal clause for an existing subsection effective January 1, 2026. The fee schedule amounts and dates remain unchanged, but the formatting was adjusted to include a note about legislative status and proper signatures.

TECHNICAL

Removed introductory formatting notes and spacing that were not part of the final enacted text.

Added a note indicating the bill is prepared for signatures and directing readers to legislative status resources.

Added blank lines and spacing adjustments throughout the document for formatting consistency.

REQUIREMENT

Changed a repeal provision from 'SUBSECTION (1)' to '(f) THIS SUBSECTION (1)' to align with the new numbering structure.

Reengrossed (04/28/2025) → Signed Act (05/30/2025) · 5 edits · May 30, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates Colorado's annual license fee schedule for retail food establishments, replacing the previous fee structure that was set to expire on December 31, 2025. The new schedule establishes higher fees for restaurants and caterers based on seating capacity, and fees for grocery stores and delis based on square footage, effective January 1, 2026. The bill also adds new definitions for different types of food establishments and creates a special fee category for food establishments serving workers in oil and gas operations.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by adding specific definitions for five types of retail food establishments (Caterer, Grocery Store, Grocery Store with Deli, Limited Food Service Establishment, Mobile Food Establishment, and Restaurant) and creates a new fee category for food establishments at temporary living quarters for oil and gas workers.

TIMELINE

Repealed the previous fee schedule that expired December 31, 2025, and replaced it with a new schedule effective January 1, 2026, with fees increasing each year through 2028.

DEFINITION

Added new statutory definitions for six types of retail food establishments to clarify which businesses fall under which fee categories.

ELIGIBILITY

Created a new fee category for retail food establishments offering food at temporary living quarters for workers associated with oil and gas operations.

FISCAL

Increased annual license fees for restaurants and caterers based on seating capacity, and for grocery stores and delis based on square footage, with higher amounts for 2026-2028 compared to previous years.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements that fees must be the only annual license fees charged by state or local authorities and must cover all required inspections during the license period.

Engrossed (04/25/2025) → Reengrossed (04/28/2025) · 3 edits · Apr 28, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include additional co-sponsors from the House and Senate, and the summary text was updated to reflect that a new summary for the reengrossed version will be available after the third reading. The fee schedule table was truncated, removing lines 3 and 4 which contained specific assessment dates and instructions for grocery stores with delis.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on annual fee assessments, but the fee schedule details were partially removed from the visible text.

TECHNICAL

Added new co-sponsors: Amabile, Bridges, Cutter, Gonzales J., Kipp, Marchman, and Wallace to the Senate sponsorship list.

Updated the bill summary notice to indicate that a new summary for the reengrossed version will be available at the third reading on April 28, 2025.

Removed lines 3 and 4 of the fee schedule table, which contained specific assessment dates and instructions for grocery stores with delis.

Introduced (04/07/2025) → Engrossed (04/25/2025) · 6 edits · Apr 28, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the annual fee schedule for retail food establishments in Colorado, adjusting the amounts for 2027 and 2028. The changes affect how much different types of businesses must pay based on seating capacity, square footage, and specific business classifications like grocery stores and mobile food establishments.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains the same, but the financial obligations for covered businesses have been modified.

FISCAL

Annual fees for retail food establishments were reduced for 2027 and 2028 across all seating capacity categories, with the largest percentage reductions occurring for businesses with over 200 seats.

Annual fees for limited food service establishments were reduced for 2027 and 2028.

Annual fees for grocery stores were reduced for 2027 and 2028, based on square footage categories.

Annual fees for grocery stores with delis were reduced for 2027 and 2028, based on square footage categories.

Annual fees for retail food establishments at temporary living quarters for oil and gas workers were reduced for 2027 and 2028.

Annual fees for mobile food establishments were reduced for 2027 and 2028.

Updating Food Establishment Inspection Fees

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