Colorado Department of Revenue Gets Police Powers to Go After Gun Stores

In a quiet but significant expansion of state authority, Colorado’s Department of Revenue (DOR) is about to become a law enforcement agency — at least when it comes to the regulation of firearm dealers.

Introduced March 31, 2025, HB25-1314 has passed the State House Chamber of the Colorado General Assembly and is now pending a public hearing in the State Senate. Bill sponsors Representatives Emily Sirota and William Lindstedt along with Senator Dylan Roberts, forced this bill through a public hearing in the House to full passage of the House Chamber in three days, so to say it’s being fast tracked – and silently – would be an understatement.

If passed and signed by the Governor, which I expect it will be, it would grant peace officer status to employees within the Department of Revenue’s new Firearms Dealer Division, giving them the ability to carry weapons, conduct investigations, and make arrests. In other words, if you’re an FFL, the same agency that regulates your sales tax license can now also slap on a badge and start a criminal investigation into your business.

This isn’t just regulatory oversight. This is a full-on law enforcement shift and it’s targeted squarely at Colorado’s licensed gun stores.

Where It Started: HB24-1353

To understand the significance of HB25-1314, you have to go back to 2024, when Colorado Democrat lawmakers passed HB24-1353.

That bill created a brand-new Firearms Dealer Licensing Program to be managed by the new Firearms Dealer Division which was tucked into the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR). Starting July 1, 2025, anyone selling firearms in Colorado — whether as a brick-and-mortar shop, or a small home-based operation making custom firearms, or operating online — will be required to obtain a state-issued firearms dealer license, even if they’re already federally licensed by the ATF.

The bill also gave the Firearms Dealer Division, through the DOR, the power to adopt rules, conduct inspections, and deny or revoke licenses based on broad criteria. The stated goal was “uniform oversight.” The practical effect? Colorado created its own licensing regime on top of existing federal ATF requirements and oversight, complete with new paperwork, hefty fees, and the looming threat of license revocation for even minor violations.

At the time, critics warned this would lead to bureaucratic overreach, and it didn’t take long.

It should be noted that earlier this year, Republican Representative Max Brooks introduced HB25-1055 which would have repealed everything enacted through HB24-1353. Representative Brooks’ bill was killed after it’s first public committee hearing where nearly all testimony was in support of an outright repeal of the new state licensing scheme. All Democrats voted to kill Brooks’ bill, and all Republicans voted to move it forward toward repeal. It ultimately died.

Now Enter Police Powers

Shifting back to present day, if enacted, HB25-1314 would designate the director, deputy directors, agents in charge, criminal investigator supervisors, and criminal investigators within the newly created Firearms Dealer Division at the DOR as “peace officers”.

These individuals would now have the authority to:

• Enforce all Colorado laws, not just those related to firearms.

• Carry weapons.

• Make arrests.

• Conduct investigations.

• Even knock on your door if you’re a licensed firearms dealer — all backed by the DOR.

And just like traditional law enforcement, they must be certified by the P.O.S.T. Board (Peace Officers Standards and Training).

In short, the Department of Revenue can now investigate, surveil, and arrest gun dealers in Colorado. And to be clear, this doesn’t mean firearm dealers are lawless or unsafe. The overwhelming majority are small business owners who already comply with federal, state, and local regulations. If this were about serious threats to public safety, it would be handled by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, county sheriffs, or local police — not a brand-new unit within a tax agency.

What Does This Mean for Gun Stores?

For the nearly 2,500 licensed firearm dealers in Colorado, this change is a seismic shift. Where once they were subject to basic administrative oversight from the DOR, and, of course, federal oversight and inspections from the ATF, they’ll now face direct law enforcement scrutiny from within the agency that also regulates their licenses and fees.

It’s a recipe for double jeopardy, where the same agency that issues your license can now also show up with a badge and begin a criminal investigation. And unlike the ATF, which at least has clear boundaries and oversight structures, this new hybrid model allows state-level tax regulators to enforce the criminal code directly.

That’s not how it works for liquor stores. Or marijuana dispensaries. Or casinos. Just gun stores.

No Other Industry Gets This Treatment

Colorado’s DOR oversees dozens of regulated industries, from marijuana and liquor to auto sales and tobacco, and although some of these may allow for a P.O.S.T. certified criminal investigator, the scope of who would be granted these police powers within the Firearms Dealer Division is stunning. Because apparently only firearm dealers should be subject to enforcement by multiple armed, state-certified police officers embedded within a regulatory division.

Other industries get civil fines or administrative penalties. Gun dealers get their own law enforcement unit.

The Auto Industry Division is the only other regulatory program mentioned in this bill that gets expanded enforcement authority. However their authority has existed in limited form since before HB25-1314. For them, this bill simply aligns them more formally with law enforcement standards. The Firearms Dealer Division, on the other hand, through this legislation is given dedicated enforcement agents with full POST authority right out of the gate, creating a dual administrative-and-police model.

This isn’t about public safety. It’s about expanding government power over a politically disfavored industry.

$0 Fiscal Note

According to the official fiscal note published with the bill, HB25-1314 will magically cost the state nothing. No new money is appropriated, and there’s no estimated increase in spending or staffing. The report claims the small number of P.O.S.T. certifications and training needs will be absorbed within existing budgets.

So let’s recap:

• A brand-new police unit is being created inside the Department of Revenue.

• That unit will carry weapons, make arrests, and enforce state laws.

• Their focus is a constitutionally protected industry.

• And we’re supposed to believe it costs zero dollars?

Either this is a slow rollout meant to fly under the radar, or the plan is to grow this quietly once the legal framework is in place. Either way, it deserves far more scrutiny than it’s getting.

What Can You Do?

This bill will be making it’s way through the Colorado State Senate in the coming days. It will first be scheduled for a public committee hearing, which is not yet on the Senate calendar. To be alerted of the hearing, sign up on our email list or track it on our Legislative Watch page which is updated daily with any new committee hearings and bill statuses.

Until then, email all Democrat State Senators and ask they vote NO on HB25-1314. CLICK HERE to email them all at once.