Latest news with #AssemblyBill342
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Can California Afford the Costs of Late Last Calls?
As CA Cities Choke in Debt, New Analysis Shows Crushing Costs from AB 342's Early Morning Bar Hours SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Between law enforcement, reckless driving, crime, and injuries, the financial burden from 4 A.M. last call times may exceed $2 billion over 5 years, according to an analysis just released by Alcohol Justice. The costs far exceed the benefits, calling into question the wisdom of state legislator efforts to extend last calls through Assembly Bill 342 (Haney, D- San Francisco). These costs are driven by spiraling costs from emergency services, law enforcement, motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and violent crime, along with broader economic disruption. "Extending last call times only benefits a handful of bars, while spreading the cost of alcohol harm over everyone," said Raul Verdugo, Director of Advocacy for Alcohol Justice. "Year after year, Californians have spoken out against extended last call times. It's time the legislature listened." "California's health officers are deeply concerned about the harms associated with extending the alcohol service hours," said Kat DeBurgh, Executive Director, Health Officers Association of California. "AB 342 ignores decades of public health evidence showing that later last calls leads to more injuries, hospitalizations and deaths. These are preventable harms. At a time when alcohol-related mortality has increased 70% in just six years, we urge the Legislature to prioritize community health by rejecting AB 342." Although the bill was conceived to help San Francisco, it allows any city to establish weekend 4 a.m. zones of arbitrary size—and those zones would impact every other city in the area. Substantial research shows how alcohol harm spreads out around neighboring communities, including: A 2008 report from Ventura County Behavioral Health showing that intoxicated drivers travel 7 to 40 miles before being stopped. An analysis of New York state arrests showing that counties bordering another county with extended last call times still saw increased DUI arrests. A comparison of alcohol-related freeway deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area, showing that crashes are 50% to 120% more likely to occur coming out of the cities of Oakland and San Francisco than into them. "It's easy for lawmakers to pretend their cities are the only ones that exist," said Miryom Yisrael, Chief Operating Officer of Alcohol Justice. "But most of us live in residential areas, where the party isn't always happening, but the crashes sure are." The new cost analysis replicates the landmark 2019 cost study from Meena Subbaraman and William Kerr of the Alcohol Research Group. This study looked at the impacts per extra drink sold in Los Angeles if that city extended its last call times to 4 A.M. seven days a week. For the new analysis, the impact-per-drink was extended to the entire state, limited to just weekend early mornings, and adjusted for inflation. Assuming just 1 in every 20 bars and restaurants in the state adopt extended last call times, the costs would top $376 million per year, and $2.046 billion over five years. Costs for individual cities include: San Francisco: $27.2 million/year, $150 million over 5 years Los Angeles: $27.9 million/year, $154 million over 5 years San Diego: $22.1 million/year, $122 million over 5 years Sacramento: $10.9 million/year, $60.4 million over 5 years This comes at a time when city after city is contemplating painful cuts to needed services, forced into austerity by budget holes. "From the desert to the redwoods, our cities' budgets are drowning in debt," said Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, Research Director for Alcohol Justice. "Ad hoc efforts to create Bourbon St. on Main St. will suck money away from public transit, housing, EMS, recovery services—everything that makes a city livable." "We've always known that late last calls bring a lot risks and harm," said Verdugo. "What we're realizing is that they're also financially devastating. We can't afford it. We call on the California legislature to keep common-sense last calls in place and reject AB 342." CONTACT: Raul Verdugo(310) 689-9401 Carson Benowitz-Fredericks(917) 426-6443 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Alcohol Justice Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Can California Afford the Costs of Late Last Calls?
As CA Cities Choke in Debt, New Analysis Shows Crushing Costs from AB 342's Early Morning Bar Hours SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Between law enforcement, reckless driving, crime, and injuries, the financial burden from 4 A.M. last call times may exceed $2 billion over 5 years, according to an analysis just released by Alcohol Justice. The costs far exceed the benefits, calling into question the wisdom of state legislator efforts to extend last calls through Assembly Bill 342 (Haney, D- San Francisco). These costs are driven by spiraling costs from emergency services, law enforcement, motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and violent crime, along with broader economic disruption. "Extending last call times only benefits a handful of bars, while spreading the cost of alcohol harm over everyone," said Raul Verdugo, Director of Advocacy for Alcohol Justice. "Year after year, Californians have spoken out against extended last call times. It's time the legislature listened." "California's health officers are deeply concerned about the harms associated with extending the alcohol service hours," said Kat DeBurgh, Executive Director, Health Officers Association of California. "AB 342 ignores decades of public health evidence showing that later last calls leads to more injuries, hospitalizations and deaths. These are preventable harms. At a time when alcohol-related mortality has increased 70% in just six years, we urge the Legislature to prioritize community health by rejecting AB 342." Although the bill was conceived to help San Francisco, it allows any city to establish weekend 4 a.m. zones of arbitrary size—and those zones would impact every other city in the area. Substantial research shows how alcohol harm spreads out around neighboring communities, including: A 2008 report from Ventura County Behavioral Health showing that intoxicated drivers travel 7 to 40 miles before being stopped. An analysis of New York state arrests showing that counties bordering another county with extended last call times still saw increased DUI arrests. A comparison of alcohol-related freeway deaths in the San Francisco Bay Area, showing that crashes are 50% to 120% more likely to occur coming out of the cities of Oakland and San Francisco than into them. "It's easy for lawmakers to pretend their cities are the only ones that exist," said Miryom Yisrael, Chief Operating Officer of Alcohol Justice. "But most of us live in residential areas, where the party isn't always happening, but the crashes sure are." The new cost analysis replicates the landmark 2019 cost study from Meena Subbaraman and William Kerr of the Alcohol Research Group. This study looked at the impacts per extra drink sold in Los Angeles if that city extended its last call times to 4 A.M. seven days a week. For the new analysis, the impact-per-drink was extended to the entire state, limited to just weekend early mornings, and adjusted for inflation. Assuming just 1 in every 20 bars and restaurants in the state adopt extended last call times, the costs would top $376 million per year, and $2.046 billion over five years. Costs for individual cities include: San Francisco: $27.2 million/year, $150 million over 5 years Los Angeles: $27.9 million/year, $154 million over 5 years San Diego: $22.1 million/year, $122 million over 5 years Sacramento: $10.9 million/year, $60.4 million over 5 years This comes at a time when city after city is contemplating painful cuts to needed services, forced into austerity by budget holes. "From the desert to the redwoods, our cities' budgets are drowning in debt," said Carson Benowitz-Fredericks, Research Director for Alcohol Justice. "Ad hoc efforts to create Bourbon St. on Main St. will suck money away from public transit, housing, EMS, recovery services—everything that makes a city livable." "We've always known that late last calls bring a lot risks and harm," said Verdugo. "What we're realizing is that they're also financially devastating. We can't afford it. We call on the California legislature to keep common-sense last calls in place and reject AB 342." CONTACT: Raul Verdugo(310) 689-9401 Carson Benowitz-Fredericks(917) 426-6443 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Alcohol Justice Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
California bill seeks to create "hospitality zones" with 4 a.m. last call
Lawmakers in California are expected to consider a bill that would allow cities to establish zones where bars and restaurants can serve alcohol until 4 a.m., in an effort to revitalize nightlife in the state. Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) announced Monday that he has introduced Assembly Bill 342 . The measure would let cities create so-called "Hospitality Zones" where last call times can be extended to 4 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and state holidays. "Downtowns in California are still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels almost half a decade later," Haney, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Downtown Recovery, said in a statement . Haney said the measure would boost post pandemic recovery, noting that Bay Area hotel revenue remains down by 45% and restaurant revenue is 20% less than in 2019. The lawmaker also cited upcoming major events in the state, including the next two Super Bowls, the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. "Tourists, downtown residents and convention planners are all looking for cities with both vibrant daytime and nighttime economies. Unfortunately many California downtowns become ghost towns after 5 p.m.," he went on to say. Currently, last call is at 2 a.m. across California. The sole exemption in the state is the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team , which is allowed to have a 4 a.m. last call after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last year. Under AB342, cities would have full control over which venues would be granted extended closing times and cities can place additional requirements on venues, according to the lawmaker. Haney has previously sought to extend last call before. In 2022, a measure Haney co-wrote with State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) to extend last call just in a handful of cities was defeated in the Assembly. "Local communities should be able to craft their own approach to nightlife, including last call, to meet their local needs. Our nightlife is unlike anywhere else in the world, and supporting it is critical to our economic recovery," Wiener said. According to Haney, AB342 has support from several business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Hotel and Lodging Association, California Travel Association and the Teamsters union. The measure is expected to be heard by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee on Apr. 23.
