Less than a year after lawmakers passed a grand compromise gradually allowing the sale of full-strength alcohol in grocery stores, a buzz has again hit the Capitol to expand efforts.

The legislation last year represented the biggest change to state liquor laws since Prohibition. It marked progress after decades of failures trying to reform outdated liquor laws.

“When you finally break the stalemate, maybe to some extent there is this sense of open season,” said Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City. “It’s not the sacred cow it once was.”

A wide range of bills has been introduced this year on the subject of alcohol, including measures that address hotel wine sales, serving on higher education campuses, extending the hours bars can stay open and sales at events by government agencies, to name a few.

A Senate committee on Monday advanced a measure that aimed at cleaning up the law passed by the legislature last year to include any store that has a pharmacy on its premises. The issue applies to liquor licenses that are attached to drugstore licenses.

The intention of Senate Bill 143 is technical, as it attempts to solve a problem some stores have experienced: selling off a pharmacy facility but continuing to run a pharmacy on premises.

The measure would extend licenses to stores with a pharmacy on premise regardless of the ownership of the pharmacy license. The bill unanimously passed the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee Monday.

It seemed simple on its face. But some stakeholders used the opportunity to attempt to build on the compromise from last year.

An amendment was offered that aimed at “leveling the playing field” by creating a new license for food stores that do not qualify for a liquor licensed drugstore license. The amendment would have allowed those stores, like Natural Grocers, to sell beer and wine.

But lawmakers felt the amendment went too far, attempting to expand licensing when stakeholders are still grappling with implementing significant changes from last year.

“The industry believes this is a major policy shift from technical issues,” Sen. Angela Williams, D-Denver, a sponsor of Senate Bill 143, said of the amendment. “Any major policy issue should be considered in individual bills.”

In the stunning and historic compromise reached last year, full-strength alcohol sales are being phased in over 20 years, with grocery stores allowed to gradually purchase 20 licenses. After the program is phased in, stores are allowed to obtain unlimited licenses. Grocery store sales aren’t slated to be expanded until 2019.

But stores like Natural Grocers felt it was left out of progress because it does not operate pharmacies out of its Colorado-based stores and it does not qualify for a retail liquor store license.

Alan Lewis, director of government affairs for Natural Grocers, said as supermarkets start expanding their sales of alcohol, small liquor stores will close. Natural Grocers depends on traffic at nearby smaller liquor stores to drive business, according to Lewis.

“It would create a fair and level playing field for all grocery stores in Colorado, not just the big out-of-state concerns,” Lewis said of the amendment. “We’ve given the biggest and richest grocery store chains and retail chains the right to operate liquor stores.”

The amendment failed by a vote of 6-1.

“We agreed as a coalition that we would not be looking to expand any major policy issues on this bill,” said Micki Hackenberger, executive director of the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of Colorado.

One lingering issue is what will happen to low-alcohol beer. Until the changes last year, and until the law is fully rolled out, grocery stores are largely stuck with selling only low-alcohol beer, aside from at the one flagship store each chain is allowed to identify for full-strength sales.  Many would like to see so-called “near beer” disappear from grocery store shelves.

Legislative leaders appear to be in agreement that they don’t want to see major changes to liquor policy this year until the loose ends from last year’s effort are tied off.

“I would prefer that it be minimized,” Senate Republican Leader Chris Holbert of Parker said of any effort to build on the changes from last year. “Let the industry settle out a bit. Let’s see full-strength beer, liquor, in grocery stores. Let’s see consumers adapt to that.”