A bill that would allow bars, clubs, and restaurants in Palm Springs and six other California cities to extend last call until 4 am passed in the State Senate on Wednesday.
SB 905 would allow Los Angeles, Long Beach, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and, perhaps most surprising, Palm Springs (and not San Diego) to move last call to 4 am, if they so wanted to, if the bill is signed into law.
The Senate just passed my bill (#SB905) allowing, but not requiring, 7 CA cities to extend nightlife hours to 4 am. The cities are LA, San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood, Sacramento, Long Beach, & Palm Springs. Let’s move away from our one-size-fits-all approach to nightlife. pic.twitter.com/4Mz0AVfkUD
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) May 30, 2018
“Right now, we have a one-size-fits-all statewide rule for big cities, small cities, rural areas, that it all has to end at 2 a.m.,” bill author Sen. Scott Wiener told KCRA. “We have some cities that want to go later, and we should give them that flexibility.”
The bill, according to Weiner, would be a 5-year pilot program and cities would be allowed to institute a plan they way they see fit – whether that be allowing it city-wide or just specific areas of town.
After five years, participating cities would file a report and the law would be evaluated to see if it should be continued.
In order to go into effect, the bill must now pass the Assembly and hit the Governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2021.