Nightlife establishments will not get a two-hour operating extension after the Denver City Council passed an amended version of a bill that keeps the current 2 a.m. closing time.

As originally proposed, venues would have been able to keep music, dancing and other entertainment going until 4 a.m., but alcohol service would still have ended at 2 a.m. as per state law.

The adopted version of Council Bill 26-0921 includes three key amendments. Among them are keeping the existing 2 a.m. cutoff and clarifying where required video surveillance is allowed within nightlife entertainment businesses and adult entertainment businesses.

Specifically, video cameras will not be allowed or required in staff bathrooms or staff locker rooms.

A third amendment removes language related to the provision of records retained by entertainment businesses for law enforcement or city officials.

“We heard concerns from ACLU specifically around that language not necessarily being needed, because that right already exists,” At-large Councilmember Sarah Parady said. “Law enforcement can access records under warrant or probable cause, and so that is still allowable.”

The new measure, as approved, scraps the city’s former amusement, dance hall and cabaret licenses and establishes three new licenses: limited entertainment business, nightlife entertainment business and adult entertainment business, effective April 1, 2027.

Current licensees may operate under existing licenses through their expiration dates.

Proposed by the city’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the new measure requires two of the new licensee categories to maintain enhanced security measures, including video surveillance in designated areas, weapons pat-downs, and registration of a designated manager with the city.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving State Executive Director Rebecca Green told The Denver Gazette she applauds the decision to keep the 2 a.m. cutoff.

“I think there still is some confusion around this notion that people would sober up in two hours,” Green said. “So if somebody is impaired at 2 a.m. in a bar, and they stayed two more hours to sober up, the average DUI (blood alcohol content level) that we’re seeing in Colorado right now is at a 0.18, and a 0.15 just two hours later. So you’re still pretty impaired, nearly two times the legal limit at that point.”

$18 million approved for claims from George Floyd protests

The Denver City Council also approved the shift of $18 million from the city’s General Fund contingency account to the City Attorney’s Liability Claims Fund to cover legal settlements and claims stemming from the 2020 George Floyd protests.

This is the second such transfer this year, according to city officials.

The transfer was approved in a block vote, but District 8 Councilmember Shontel Lewis said the agenda item should “represent a wake-up call for the city with regard to the amount of money we are spending in settlements.”

Lewis stated that since she was inaugurated in 2023, she has seen a total of more than $34 million transferred into the liability claims fund.

“Each of these dollars is one less dollar that we could use to fund city staff, city programs, and city services,” she said.

Year-to-date, Lewis said, the city has already paid out more than $3.9 million in claims settlements.