Gov. Brown vetoes bill extending bar hours to 4 a.m.

UPDATE (09/28/18 11:45 p.m.): A state bill that would have extended the hours can serve alcohol to 4 a.m. was vetoed by the California governor on Friday.

The law would have only impacted nine major California cities, but local bar managers are also reacting.

Bar staff in Monterey on Alvarado Street say alcohol has to be out of people’s hands by 2 a.m. One manager says extending the hours would mean more money, which means more tax revenue for the city.

“2 a.m., no liquor sales. After that, no non-employees are allowed to be in the establishment,” said Jason Emmett, a manager at Bull and Bear Taphouse.

If any customer is found to have alcohol after two, the bar faces huge fines.

“Usually, we do the last call early so you have time to push everybody out, clear all the alcoholic beverages off the tables, off the bar,” said Emmett.

A state senator from San Francisco wanted to change those rules, at least in bigger cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the proposal passed the state legislature.

But Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the bill on Friday, saying there is enough “mischief” from midnight to two, and he expressed concerns about drunk driving and public safety.

One app service driver KION spoke with think times are changing.

“You know, the governor is pretty much old-fashioned. So in today’s era you got to really look with the advance in technology and what’s going on,” said Carlos Jones, who was driving for Uber and Lyft on Friday in Monterey. “You have Uber and Lyft today. So things aren’t going to get worse because people are aware of Uber and Lyft and that they can just leave their cars at home and drink as much as they want.”

Others were not so convinced.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said KC, a local resident. “Why the hell do you have to stay open till 4 a.m.? I mean isn’t one o’clock, two o’clock enough? Four o’clock? Come on. Governor, nice job.”

Still, businesses argue they could make thousands more, and the city would also benefit.

“Trust me, these businesses would love it. Bringing in the economy. Folks would just love it,” said Jones.

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Declaring “we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 (am),” Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have extended last call at bars and taverns in nine California cities, including San Francisco and Oakland, to 4 a.m.

In taking the action Friday, Brown believed that while the extended hours would have increased revenues in the cities, they would have also come with a serious public safety threat.

“The California Highway Patrol strongly believes increased drinking will lead to more drunk driving,” Brown wrote adding that the extra two hours would “result in more drinking.”

“California’s laws regulating late night drinking have been on the books since 1913,” he continued. “I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 addings without adding two more hours of mayhem.”

Sen. Scott Weiner’s, D-San Francisco, sponsored the bill which called for longer bar hours in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City, and Palm Springs.

Cities would have been able to individually decide whether to limit extended hours to certain neighborhoods, nights of the week, or even certain times throughout the year.

The bill would have gone into effect in January 2021 with a five-year limit that will allow officials to evaluate the effects of longer service hours and decide whether to renew or discontinue the legislation.