Chad Mayes becomes late-night bar bill co-author
Assemblymember Chad Mayes has become a co-author on SB-58, a bill which would extend last call for three desert cities to 4:00 a.m as part of a pilot program.
The program would include 10 cities across the state.
SB-58 was introduced in its current form in December by State Senator Scott Wiener. In October, the very first iteration of the bill, also introduced by Wiener, was vetoed by then-Governor Jerry Brown.
“California’s laws regulating late-night drinking have been on the books since 1913,” Governor Brown wrote in his message accompanying the veto. “I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem.”
In a March 6 amendment to SB 58, Fresno was added to the list of cities which would be included in the program. The cities are as follows:
The following cities would see a change under the bill:
Cathedral City Coachella Palm Springs Los Angeles Long Beach Oakland Sacramento West Hollywood San Francisco Fresno
The March 25 amendment to the bill added Mayes, who represents the 42nd Assembly District, to the roster of co-authors. The most recent amendment also bumped back a possible earliest and latest start date for the program; when it was first introduced, the program could start as early as January 1, 2021, and as late as January 2, 2026, under its current version those dates slide back a year, to January 1, 2022, and January 2, 2027, respectively.
Excerpted from the Legislative Counsel’s Digest’s page on https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
This bill, beginning January 1, 2022, and before January 2, 2027, would require the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to conduct a pilot program that would authorize the department to issue an additional hours license to an on-sale licensee located in a qualified city that would authorize, with or without conditions, the selling, giving, or purchasing of alcoholic beverages at the licensed premises between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., upon completion of specified requirements by the qualified city in which the licensee is located. The bill would impose specified fees related to the license to be deposited in the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund. The bill would require the applicant to notify specified persons of the application for an additional hours license and would provide a procedure for protest and hearing regarding the application. The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol and each qualified city that has elected to participate in the program to submit reports to the Legislature and specified committees regarding the regional impact of the additional hours licenses, as specified. The bill would provide that any person under 21 years of age who enters and remains in the licensed public premises during the additional serving hours without lawful business therein is guilty of a misdemeanor, as provided. The pilot program would apply to Cathedral City, Coachella, Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Francisco, and West Hollywood.
This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating new crimes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
In July, Palm Springs residents had mixed reactions to the bill.
Palm Springs councilmembers had previously expressed support for the prospect of the program, voting unanimously to be a part of the five-year program.
“If the bill is signed into law, then it will come back to the city. We’ll discuss it in a council meeting, we’ll get public input, we’ll meet with the restaurants and bars and resident groups and business groups to get input,” Palm Springs Council member Geoff Kors said in July. Then we’ll make a decision if we want to do it, and if we do, how we want to implement it,”
