Alcohol extension legislation is back on the table; Coachella, Palm Springs, and Cathedral City showed interest

Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Haney introduce a bill allowing cities to extend the last call for alcohol to 4 am.

Coming from Sacramento, Senator Scott Wiener, and Assemblymember Matt Haney’s legislation is planned to give the option to extend but it is not required to seven pilot cities to extend sales of alcohol at bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. This piece of legislation is not supporting liquor stores. Out of the seven, three cities in the valley showed interest and were selected to be a part of this program: Coachella, Palm Springs, and Cathedral City, the others are San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood, and Fresno. Each pilot city will decide for itself whether to remain at the normal 2 am closing time or extend it to 4 am.

Senator Wiener said, “Many bars and venues are still facing mountains of debt as a result of the last few years,”. Senator Wiener has previously introduced similar legislation. In 2018, then-Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the legislation. This bill is back on the table.