UCLA students visiting California bars, including those in Los Angeles, would be able to keep ordering drinks well after 2 a.m., under a newly introduced state bill that would allow alcohol to be sold until 4 a.m.
California law currently prohibits the sale of alcohol in places like bars, restaurants and nightclubs between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. The new legislation, which was introduced in the California Senate last month, would allow the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to extend hours until 4 a.m. on a county-by-county basis. The change would not apply to liquor stores.
The legislation from Sen. Mark Leno states that individual cities would have the option to expand the number of hours that bars, restaurants and nightclubs are allowed to serve alcohol.
Cities like Las Vegas and New York City already have a similar system in place, according to a March press release from Leno’s office.
“This legislation would allow destination cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego to start local conversations about the possibility of expanding nightlife and the benefits it could provide the community by boosting jobs, tourism and local tax revenue,” Leno said in the statement.
He added later in the statement that the change would take some pressure off of local transportation because Leno predicts that customers would gradually leave as the night progressed, instead of leaving all at once at 2 a.m.
Simon Grille, a law student, said he would like to see bars in Los Angeles open later.
“I think it’s more in line with social practice,” he said. “I mean, people still hang out after 2 a.m.”
But some restaurant owners and patrons have expressed concerns that the legislation might cause safety problems if it is enacted.
“I don’t think keeping bars open is a good idea,” said Brian Kawahara, a graduate student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “The image of bars in Vegas, New Orleans, New York just doesn’t work in the context of Southern California.”
He added that since most people in Los Angeles drive from bar to bar, allowing them to stay later and drink more could be unsafe.
“It would probably be fine in a city like San Francisco, but L.A. just doesn’t have a city plan that could make it work,” he said.
Leno’s statement lists several other possible benefits of the proposed changes, including giving bars and nightclubs the opportunity to earn more revenue.
Jackie Stanley, the manager of The Hollywood Way, a Burbank restaurant that serves alcohol, said that while legislation may offer bars more business, it could encourage people to drink more than normal and might be dangerous.
“It would definitely benefit business as people would stay longer,” she said. “Though we might have to hire more security.”
Committees in the California Senate will review the legislation on April 23, according to the California legislative information website.
Contributing reports by Estefani Herrera and Vishaka Sriniwasan, Bruin contributors.