California Might Hit Snooze On Last Call In Some Cities To Keep The Drinks Flowing Until 4 a.m.
by Heather Cassell
The party might soon go beyond 2 a.m. in nine California cities.
The California Assembly approved the Alcoholic Beverages: Hours of Sale (Senate Bill 905), authored by California State Senator Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco), 46-14 on August 29.
“Nightlife is crucial to our culture and our economy,” Wiener said in a statement from his office. “California’s one-size-fits-all closing time doesn’t make sense. When it comes to nightlife, you can’t compare downtown Los Angeles or San Francisco to a small town.
“Local communities should be able to size up their own nightlife needs and decide their own closing time. This bill allows for local control over nightlife – granting flexibility to nine cities to allow bars to stay open later in certain neighborhoods or for special events if that’s what the community decides is best.”
Party All Night Long
Soon three of California’s sleepiest large cities Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco will be hitting the snooze button on the “Last Call!” joining other cities that have kept the party going well past sunset through to sunrise.
The bill proposes to extend open hours for bars and nightclubs until 4 a.m. in nine California cities. Participating cities in the 5-year test pilot program are Cathedral City, Coachella, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Francisco, and West Hollywood.
The cities will have the freedom to limit nightlife to certain neighborhoods and nights of the week, similar to Washington, D.C. which extends nightlife hours until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays or Miami that limits nightlife to the city’s entertainment district where the bars and clubs never close.
Los Angeles is the only city included on the list that already allows bars in the city’s Koreatown to stay open well after 2 a.m.
New Orleans and Las Vegas are famous for late-late night clubgoers enjoying all-night parties, but these cities aren’t the only ones in America where the party doesn’t stop.
Surprisingly, Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama also never stop the party.
Other cities that shut the party down between 3 and 5 a.m. are Albany, Buffalo, and New York in the Empire State; Chicago, Illinois; Savannah, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Tampa, Florida; and Washington, D.C.
City officials will create and approve a plan that will be submitted to the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Department for approval.
Communities will also have full input into the process.
Scott introduced a similar bill (SB 384) last year. The bill proposed applying the law the entire state. It died like similar bills that have been introduced and killed several times since 2004.
The current bill is an amended version of his previous attempt to extend nightlife hours in the Golden State.
Opponents of the bill say that it would add new costs and lead to more dangerous roads, reported ABC 7 News.
The bill is co-authored by California State Senators Ricardo Lara (D-Long Beach) and Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and state Assembly Members Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia), Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), and Reggie-Jones Sawyer (D-Los Angeles.
The bill is now heading back to the state’s Senate for a final vote. It’s expected that state senators will sign off on the bill either today or tomorrow.
If approved, it will head to California Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his veto or approval.
Book your next party getaway with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .
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