State legislators approved a bill last Thursday to push last call by two hours in nine cities throughout California, sending the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown for his approval.
If Gov. Jerry Brown signs the legislation, local governments in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Palm Springs, Sacramento, Coachella and Cathedral City can decide to allow restaurants and bars within their cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. with the approval of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The bill would be a pilot program in those cities for five years beginning in 2021.
“Los Angeles has become an international city, and the ability to, in designated areas, in designated cities, to be able to be open till 4 a.m. is a great idea, that time has come,” Adam Englander, Executive Director of Greater Los Angeles Hospitality Association, said.
But not everyone is happy about SB 905. Jacque Buchelli of Pasadena lost her husband to a drunk driver 20 years ago as he drove home from work at 4 a.m.
“There’s 29 deaths a day for DUI crashes, that’s almost once every 45, 50 minutes,” Buchelli said. “By increasing these hours, it’s going to give them more opportunity to get even more drunk.”
Proponents of the bill say that’s not true.
“With things like Uber and Lyft and other ride-share companies, what is happening is people are not driving places,” Englander said.
Other cities that could see last call extended include Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco.
If the governor signs the bill into law, it wouldn’t take effect until 2021. Brown has until September 30 to decide.
The Legislature just gave final approval to our bill allowing cities to extend last call to 4 a.m. The bill now heads to the Governor. We will make the case to the Governor that cities should be able to decide for themselves what kind of nightlife makes sense. pic.twitter.com/XZTdTUnRff
— Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 30, 2018
Leave a Reply