The city of Denver is planning to ask voters to approve a name change for one of its largest agencies, the Department of Excise and Licenses.

Aiming to help the public better understand the services offered by the department, city officials suggest the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection is a better fit.

Members of the Business, Arts, Workforce, Climate, & Aviation Services (BIZ) Committee considered a bill on Wednesday that would refer a question to the November ballot, asking voters to approve the name change in the city’s charter.

The proposed resolution will still require full City Council approval.

“The Department of Excise and Licenses protects Denver consumers and ensures businesses are operating ethically in our city,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement.

“Changing the name to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection is a simple, yet impactful modification that will help the public understand and access the critical work coming from this agency.”

Officials say the name change will not have a financial impact.

“We don’t anticipate there being any cost associated with the name change, which I think is a pretty important point right now,” Molly Duplechian, executive director of the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, told the committee. “We’re not requesting any additional budget or anything like that.

Duplechian added that many of the changes, should the voters approve, would be accomplished internally, such as website updates.

She said that no new stationery would be ordered, with the department using its existing supplies until they were depleted.

The department’s current moniker dates back to 1971 when Denver residents voted to split the former Department of Safety and Excise into two separate agencies. However, the Department does not oversee or manage the collection of excise taxes – that duty belongs to the Department of Finance.

This will be the first attempt by a Denver government agency to get voter approval of a name change since the November 2019 election, where voters approved the Department of Public Works’ request to be known as the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure.