Chapter 5.20 Tobacco Product Retailer Code
Chapter 5.20 Tobacco Product Retailer CodeThis Ordinance shall be titled the Tobacco Product Retailer Code.
The purpose of this Ordinance is to protect the health, safety and welfare of Pueblo County citizens, particularly youth, by regulating retail sales of cigarettes, tobacco products and nicotine products, hereafter known as Tobacco Products, within the County and prohibiting the sale of Tobacco Products to any person under twenty-one years of age.
C.R.S. § 18-13-121. Furnishing Cigarettes, Tobacco Products or Nicotine Products to Persons
Under Twenty-One Years of Age.
C.R.S. § 30-11-101. Powers of Counties.
C.R.S. § 30-11-103. Commissioners to Exercise Power of County.
C.R.S. § 30-15-401. County Powers-Regulation Under Police Powers.
C.R.S. § 30-15-410. County Courts-Jurisdiction.
C.R.S. § 30-15-411. Conflicts with State Statutes.
C.R.S. § 39-22-623. Disposition of Collections-Definitions.
C.R.S. § 44-3-103. Alcohol and Tobacco Regulations-Definitions.
C.R.S. § 44-7-103. Sale of Cigarettes, Tobacco Products or Nicotine Products to Persons Under
Twenty- One Years of Age or in Vending Machines-Prohibited-Warning
Sign-Small Quantity Sales Prohibited.
This Ordinance shall apply in the unincorporated areas of Pueblo County.
For the purposes of this Ordinance, the words and phrases used in this Chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section:
(1) Arm's length transaction. A sale in good faith and for valuable consideration that reflects the fair market value in the open market between two (2) informed and willing parties, neither of which is under any compulsion to participate in the transaction. A sale between relatives, related companies or partners, or a sale for which a significant purpose is avoiding the effect of the violations of 5.20.160 is not an arm's length transaction.
(2) Cigar means any roll of tobacco other than a cigarette wrapped entirely or in part in tobacco or any other substance containing tobacco. For purposes herein, cigar includes, but is not limited to tobacco products known as “cigar,” cigarillo,” or “little cigar.”
(3) Cigarette means any product that contains tobacco or nicotine, that is intended to be burned or heated under ordinary conditions of use, and consists or contains:
(a) Any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any other substance not containing tobacco;
(b) Tobacco in any form that is functional in the product which, because of its appearance, the type of tobacco used in the filler, or its packaging or labeling, is likely to be offered to or purchased by consumers as a cigarette; or
(c) The term includes all “roll your own,” i.e., any tobacco that, because of its appearance, type, packaging or labeling is suitable for use and likely to be offered to or purchased by consumers as tobacco for making cigarettes.
(4) Consumer means a person who purchases tobacco products not for resale to another.
(5) Department means the Pueblo County Sheriff Department, and any agency or individual designated by the County to enforce the provisions of this Chapter.
(6) Electronic Smoking Device or ESD means any product that contains or delivers nicotine, synthetic nicotine or any other substance intended for human consumption and that can be used by a person to enable the inhalation of vapor or aerosol from the product and includes but is not limited to a product manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah, vape or vape pen or any other product name or descriptor. Electronic smoking device includes any refill, cartridge or component part of a product, whether or not marketed or sold separately. Electronic smoking device does not include a humidifier, an inhaler, nebulizer, or similar device approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration for the delivery of medication.
(7) License means a tobacco product retailer license.
(8) Licensee means the owner or holder of a tobacco product retailer license.
(9) Licensing Agent means the Director of Planning and Development or their designee.
(10) Minimum Legal Sales Age means twenty-one (21) years of age or older.
(11) Person means any natural person, partnership, cooperative association, corporation, limited liability company, personal representative, receiver, trustee, assignee, or other legal entity.
(12) Sale or Sell means any of the following; to exchange, barter, or traffic in; to solicit or receive an order for; to keep or expose for sale; to deliver for value or in any way other than gratuitously; to peddle or to possess with intent to sell; to traffic in for any consideration promised or obtained, directly or indirectly.
(13) Self-Service Display means the open display or storage of a tobacco product(s) in a manner that is physically accessible to the general public without the assistance of the licensee, or an employee or agent of the licensee and a direct person-to-person transfer between the licensee or employee or agent of the licensee and the consumer. A vending machine is a form of self-service display.
(14) Tobacco Product means:
(a) Any product containing tobacco or nicotine or synthetic nicotine that is made or derived from tobacco or any other source that may be used to introduce tobacco or nicotine or synthetic nicotine into the human body, including but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, dissolvable tobacco products, and nicotine-enhanced products;
(b) Any electronic device that may be used to deliver nicotine or synthetic nicotine to the person inhaling from the device, including any solution, compound, or other substance containing nicotine or synthetic nicotine to be used with the device; and
(c) Any other preparation of tobacco and any product or formulation of matter containing nicotine or synthetic nicotine that is intended for human consumption or is likely to be consumed, whether inhaled, absorbed, or ingested by any other means
Tobacco product does not include any product that is a drug, device, or combination of products specifically authorized for smoking cessation purposes by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined or described in 21 U.S.C. 321 and 353(g).
(15) Tobacco Product Retailer means any person, partnership, joint venture, society, club, trustee, trust, association, organization, or corporation that sells, offers for sale, or does or offers to exchange for any form of consideration a tobacco product without regard to the quantity of tobacco products sold, offered for sale, exchanged, or offered for exchange.
(16) Tobacco Product Retailing means any person who engages in the sale of tobacco products directly to the public from any store, stand, booth, concession, outlet, vehicle, cart, vending machine, structure or any grounds or any other enterprise that sells, offers for sale, or does or offers to exchange for any form of consideration tobacco products.
(17) Tobacco Product Retail Location means any physical stationary location where tobacco products are offered for sale or exchange for any form of consideration without regard to the quantity of tobacco products sold, offered for sale, exchanged, or offered for exchange, or whether or not the business is open to the public, or a business or entity that maintains a private membership-based point of sale. The term includes but is not limited to grocery stores, tobacco product shops, kiosks, convenience stores, gasoline service stations, bars, country clubs, cigar lounges, restaurants, and potential delivery services offered by a Tobacco Product Retail Location.
(18) Vending machine means any mechanical, electrical, or electronic self-service device which upon the insertion of money, tokens or any other form of payment dispenses cigarettes, tobacco products or nicotine or synthetic nicotine products.
In calculating any period of time prescribed or allowed under this Chapter, the day of the act or event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, even if it is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, unless the prescribed time period is ten (10) days or less.
5.20.070 License Requirements and Prohibitions.
(1) Tobacco Product Retailer License Required. It shall be unlawful and violation of this code for any person to act as a Tobacco Product Retailer in Pueblo County unless they have obtained a Tobacco Product Retailer License and maintains the same in full force and effect pursuant to this Chapter for each location where Tobacco Product Retailing occurs.
(2) No Tobacco Product Retailer License shall be issued to authorize Tobacco Product Retailing anywhere other than a fixed location as designated in the License application and approved by the Licensing Agent. Tobacco Product Retailing by persons anywhere other than a Licensed premises, on foot or from a vehicle is a violation of this code.
(3) Display of License. Each Tobacco Product Retailer License shall be prominently displayed at all times in a publicly visible location on the Licensed premises.
(4) Other Prohibitions.
(a) A Licensed premises may only have one (1) active Pueblo County Tobacco Product Retailer License at a time. Every License is specific to a designated location. The License cannot be assigned, delegated, sold, inherited, or otherwise transferred between persons or transferred to a different location, except as provided in this Chapter. No Licensee shall exercise the privileges of one License for any other License location, nor shall the Licensee delegate the privileges of an individual License.
(b) A Person or entity may not apply for a License for a one-year period after that Person or entity's Tobacco Product Retailer License has been revoked.
(c) No License shall be issued to any person under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(5) The Licensing Agent is authorized to make rules and publish forms and policy consistent with the intent and spirit of this Chapter concerning applications, the application process, the information required of applicants, the application procedures, reporting of changes, and the administration and procedures to be used and followed in the application process, hearings, and general license administration.
5.20.080 Conditions of License.
The following conditions shall apply to the License:
(1) Minimum Age for Persons Handling Tobacco Products. No person under twenty-one (21) years of age while employed at a Licensed premises shall sell, stock, retrieve or otherwise handle Tobacco Products.
(2) Minimum Legal Sales Age. Tobacco Products shall not be given, sold, distributed, dispensed, or offered for sale, to any person under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(3) Prohibition of Self-Service Displays. Licensees shall stock and display Tobacco Products in a manner so as to make all such products inaccessible to customers without the assistance of a retail clerk, thereby requiring a direct face-to-face exchange of the Tobacco Product from an employee or agent of the Licensed Retailer to the customer; provided, however, this Paragraph (3) shall not apply to a Licensee if the Licensee ensures that the premises are not open, or accessible to persons under twenty-one (21) years of age by verification of the photographic government issued identification by the Licensee or an agent(s) of the Licensee of all persons prior to the individuals entry into the Licensed premises.
(4) Requirements of Age Identification and Verification. No person engaged in Tobacco Product Retailing shall sell or transfer a Tobacco Product to another person without first examining the government issued photographic identification of the recipient to confirm that the recipient is at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
(5) Distance From Schools. The Licensing Agent shall not approve a Tobacco Product Retailer License application for a new License if the location is located within five hundred (500) feet of a school. The distance between a Licensed location and a school is measured from the nearest property line of land used for school purposes to the nearest portion of the Licensed premises using a route of direct pedestrian access.
(a) This Subsection (5) does not apply to retail locations where Tobacco Products were sold
before the effective date of this Chapter.
(b) As used in this Section "school" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Colorado
Revised Statute 44-3-103(50).
(6) Signage Requirements. The owner, operator, manager, or other person who controls a Licensed premises shall display a warning sign as specified in this Subsection. The warning sign shall be displayed in a prominent place in the Tobacco Product Retailer location at all times, shall have a minimum height of three (3) inches and a width of six (6) inches, and shall read as follows:
WARNING
IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL CIGARETTES, TOBACCO PRODUCTS, OR NICOTINE PRODUCTS TO ANY PERSON UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE. STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT, TO PURCHASE CIGARETTES, TOBACCO PRODUCTS, OR NICOTINE PRODUCTS AT THIS RETAIL LOCATION, A PERSON MUST PRESENT A VALID GOVERNMENT-ISSUED PHOTOGRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE.
5.20.090 Application Procedure.
(1) An application for a License shall be submitted and signed by an individual authorized by the Person or entity making application for the License. It is the responsibility of each applicant and/or Licensee to be informed regarding all laws and regulations applicable to Tobacco Product Retailing, including those laws affecting the issuance of said License. No applicant and/or Licensee may rely on the issuance of a License as a determination by the County that the applicant or Licensee has complied with all applicable Tobacco Product Retailing laws.
(2) All applications shall be submitted on a form supplied by the Licensing Agent.
(3) A Licensed Tobacco Product Retailer shall inform the Licensing Agent in writing of any change in the information submitted on an application for a License within thirty (30) business days of a change, regardless of when the change occurs during the designated license period.
(4) All License applications shall be accompanied by the payment in full of all fees as required in this Chapter.
(1) Upon the receipt of a completed application for a License as required by this Chapter, the Licensing Agent shall sign and issue a License within thirty (30) days, which period may be extended by the Licensing Agent for good cause, unless substantial evidence demonstrates that one (1) or more of the following bases for denial exists:
(a) The information presented in the application is incomplete, inaccurate or false;
(b) The applicant seeks authorization for a License at a location where this Chapter prohibits the issuance of a License;
(c) The applicant seeks a License for a location that is not appropriately zoned for the use;
(d) The applicant seeks authorization for a License and the applicant's current Pueblo County License is suspended or revoked
(e) The applicant is not qualified to hold the requested License under the provisions of this Chapter;
(f) The applicant and/or Licensed premises is not in compliance with all County, state or federal laws;
(g) The applicant is indebted to or obligated in any manner to the County for unpaid taxes, liens, or other monies, including outstanding fines accrued under this ordinance; or
(h) The payment of the License fee in the full amount does not accompany the License application.
(1) If the Licensing Agent denies issuance of the License, the Licensing Agent shall notify the applicant in writing by regular mail postage prepaid on the address shown in the application. The notice shall include the grounds for denial. Notice is deemed to have been properly given upon mailing.
(2) An applicant has the right to appeal the Licensing Agent’s denial of an application to a hearing officer that shall be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. Such an appeal shall be initiated by filing a written request with the Licensing Agent within twenty-one (21) days of the date of the notice of denial of the issuance of a License.
(3) The applicant's failure to timely appeal the decision of the Licensing Agent is a waiver of the
applicant's right to contest the denial of the issuance of the License.
(4) The standard of proof at such appeal shall be a preponderance of the evidence, and the burden of proof shall be upon the applicant.
(5) A decision by the hearing officer shall be a final administrative decision. Once final, a decision may be subject to judicial review as provided by state law.
5.20.120 License Term, Renewal and Expiration.
(1) Term. All Tobacco Product Retailer Licenses issued under this Chapter shall be for the term of one (1) year or a fraction thereof. Upon approval of an initial application for a Tobacco Product Retailer License the Licensing Agent set the local license expiration date on the same date as the current state license expiration date. Initial License fees shall be assessed as established in 5-20-140 and will not be prorated.
(2) Renewal of License. A Licensee shall apply for the renewal of the License and submit the renewal License fee no later than thirty (30) days prior to expiration of the existing term. The Licensing Agent shall renew the License prior to the end of the term, provided that the renewal application and fee were timely submitted, and the Licensing Agent is not aware of any fact that would have prevented issuance of the original License or issuance of the renewal.
(3) Renewal Late Fee. Any Licensee who fails to apply for the renewal of the License or fails to submit the renewal License fee thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the existing term; shall pay a late fee as established in Section 5-20-140(1)(c).
(4) Fees Paid. The Licensing Agent shall not renew any License issued under this Chapter unless all applicable fees, including late fees, have been paid.
(5) Expiration of License. If a complete license renewal application is not submitted prior to expiration of the license the license cannot be renewed. Any business seeking to continue selling tobacco products shall be required to submit a new License application and payment of the fee for a new License established in Section 5-20-104(1)(c). There shall be no Sale of any Tobacco Products after the License expiration date and before any new License is issued.
5.20.130 License Nontransferable.
(1) A License shall not be transferred from one (1) licensee to another or from one (1) location to another.
(2) When a License has been issued to spouse or general or limited partners, the death of a spouse or partner shall not require the surviving spouse or partner to obtain a new License for the remainder of the term of that License. All rights and privileges granted under the original License shall continue in full force and effect as to such survivors for the balance of the term of the License.
(1) All applicants shall pay the following fees upon submission of a license application:
(a) For a new Tobacco Product Retailer License, five hundred dollars ($500.00);
(b) For renewal of a Tobacco Product Retailer License, four hundred dollars ($400.00);
(c) For late renewal of a Tobacco Product Retailer License, fifty dollars ($50.00). Such late fee shall be in addition to the renewal fee
(2) Fees are nonrefundable except as may be required by law.
(3) No fee previously paid by a Licensee in connection with the application, or any portion thereof, shall be refunded if such License is suspended or revoked.
5.20.150 Compliance Monitoring.
(1) Compliance monitoring of this Chapter shall be by the Department, as the Department deems
appropriate.
(2) The Department shall conduct at least one (1) compliance checks per Licensee per License term.
(3) Compliance checks shall be conducted so as to allow the Department to determine, at a minimum, if the Tobacco Product Retailer is conducting business in a manner that complies with the provision of this ordinance regulating retail sales and youth access to Tobacco Products. When the Department deems appropriate, the compliance checks shall determine compliance with other laws applicable to Tobacco Products.
(4) Nothing in this Section shall create a right of action in any Licensee or other person against the County, the Department or their agents and officers.
(5) The Department shall not enforce tobacco possession, purchase, or use laws against an individual under the age of 21 if the individual is deemed an “under-aged operative.” An under-aged operative is an individual who:
(a) is participating in a compliance check supervised and conducted by a peace officer or a code enforcement official of the Department; or
(b) is acting as an agent of a person designated by the County to monitor compliance with this Chapter or participating in a training or research protocol as sanctioned by the Department; or
(c) is participating in a compliance check funded in part, either directly or indirectly through subcontracting, by the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment or the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
5.20.155 RECOMMEND INCLUDING A DEFINED PENALTY STRUCTURE SECTION.
(1) In addition to any other penalty authorized by law, and if the Hearing Officer determines based on a preponderance of the evidence that the licensee, or any of the licensee's agents or employees, has violated any of the requirements, conditions or prohibitions of this Chapter, or has pleaded guilty, "no contest" or its equivalent, or admitted to a violation of any law relating to the sale of tobacco to persons under the age of twenty-one (21), including but not limited to Sections 18-13-121 and 24-35-503, C.R.S., as amended, the Hearing Officer may consider the following non-binding guidelines in determining the sanctions to be imposed upon a licensee as follows:
(a) One (1) violation within three (3) years: a civil penalty of seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750.00).
(b) Two (2) violations within three (3) years: a civil penalty of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) and suspension of the license for seven (7) days.
(c) Three (3) violations within three (3) years: a civil penalty of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) and a minimum thirty (30) days suspension of the license.
(d) Four (4) violations within three (3) years: a civil penalty of six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) and revocation of the license.
(2) The actual sanction imposed upon a licensee for any violation may vary from the above-stated guidelines when warranted by the specific facts and circumstances of the case The Hearing Officer shall make findings on the record of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances which justify deviation from these guidelines.
5.20.160 Fine, Suspension, or Revocation of License.
(1) The following shall be grounds for issuance of a fine, suspension, or revocation of the License:
(a) A violation by a Licensee or Licensee's officers, agents, or employees of any of the provisions of this Chapter, or any laws of the United States, the State of Colorado, or ordinances of the County of Pueblo - relating to the sale or furnishing of Tobacco Products to persons under the age of twenty-one (21), or the sale, storage, or display of Tobacco Products.
(b) Violations of any conditions imposed by the Licensing Agent in connection with the issuance or renewal of a License.
(c) Failure to timely file and pay state or local taxes that are related to the operation of the business associated with the License.
(d) Loss of right to possession of the Licensed premises.
(e) Fraud, misrepresentation, or a false statement of material fact contained in the original or renewal License application.
(f) Any violation of any of the requirements of this Chapter relating to Tobacco Product Retailing.
(g) Any violation of State or Federal Law relating to Tobacco Product Retailing.
(2) After the effective date of this Chapter, it shall be a civil infraction for any Tobacco Product Retailer to sell a Tobacco Product without a License as mandated under this Chapter, or with a suspended or revoked License.
(3) The Board of County Commissioners shall appoint a hearing officer to hear all actions relating to violations of the Tobacco Product Retailer Code pursuant to this Chapter. The hearing officer shall have the authority to issue fines, suspend, revoke or impose remedial sanctions for violations.
(4) The Licensing Agent shall commence disciplinary proceedings issuing an order to show cause demonstrating that probable cause exists to determine that one (1) or more grounds exist pursuant to Chapter to fine, suspend, or revoke the License. The order to show cause shall set the matter for a public hearing before the hearing officer.
(5) Notice of the order to show cause and hearing date shall be mailed to Licensee by regular mail, postage prepaid, at the address shown on the License no later than thirty (30) days prior to the hearing date. Notice is deemed to have been properly given upon mailing.
(6) The Licensing Agent is authorized to make rules and publish forms and policy consistent with the intent and spirit of this Chapter concerning the administration and procedures to be used and followed in hearings held pursuant to an order to show cause. The standard of proof at such hearings shall be a preponderance of the evidence, and the burden of proof shall be upon the Licensing Agent and/or Department.
(7) Every Licensee whose License has been suspended by the hearing officer shall post two (2) notices in conspicuous places, one (1) on the exterior and one (1) on the interior of its premises, for the duration of the suspension. The notices shall be two (2) feet in length and fourteen (14) inches in width containing lettering not less than one-half (½) inch in height, and shall be in the following form:
NOTICE OF SUSPENSION:
TOBACCO PRODUCT RETAIL LICENSE ISSUED FOR THESE PREMISES HAS BEEN SUSPENDED BY ORDER OF THE LOCAL LICENSING AUTHORITY FOR VIOLATION OF THE PUEBLO COUNTY CODE
(a) Failure to post the signs required by this Subsection nine (9) shall constitute a separate violation of this Code.
(b) Advertising or posting signs to the effect that the premises have been closed or business suspended for any reason other than by order of the Department suspending the Tobacco Product Retailer License shall constitute a separate violation of this Code.
(8) Any decision of the hearing officer under this section shall be a final administrative decision. Once final, a decision may be subject to judicial review as provided by state law.
5.20.170 Compliance with Section 39-22-623 C.R.S.
This Chapter is not nor shall not be construed in any way as imposing a tax on any person as a condition for engaging in the business of selling cigarettes. If any part of this Chapter is found to impose a tax as a condition for engaging in the business of selling cigarettes, then that part shall be deemed void.
5.20.180 No Rights in License.
Every License issued under this Chapter confers only a limited and conditional privilege subject to the requirements, conditions, limitations, and qualifications of this Chapter. The License does not confer a property right of any kind. The License and privilege created by the License may be further regulated, limited, or completely extinguished at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners electorate of the County, as provided in this Chapter, without any compensation to the Licensee. Nothing contained in this Chapter grants to any Licensee any vested right to continue operating under the provisions of this Chapter as they existed at the time the License was approved or issued, and every License shall be subject to any ordinance or prohibition adopted after the License was approved or issued.
The provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared to be severable. If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person, establishment or circumstances shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or application of this Ordinance.
The foregoing text is the authentic text of Pueblo County Ordinance No. 2025-32.
The first reading of said Ordinance took place on June 10, 2025. It was published in full in the Pueblo Chieftain, a newspaper of general circulation in Pueblo County, Colorado, on June 15, 2025.
It was adopted on July 1, 2025, and the Pueblo County Clerk is hereby ordered and directed to cause this Ordinance to be republished by title and with amended sections in the Pueblo Chieftain, a newspaper of general circulation in Pueblo County, Colorado, July 10, 2025, and shall take effect on (30 days later) August 7, 2025.
(Ord. No. 2025-32)