Last Call for Leno's 4 a.m. Bar Bill

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Apr 23, 2013, 08:10 ET

Public Health & Safety Advocates Applaud Senate GO Committee for Voting 6-4 to Stop SB 635

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alcohol Justice, and the statewide Coalition to Stop Leno's 4 a.m. Bar Bill, applauded the Senate Governmental Organization (GO) Committee today for carefully considering and stopping SB 635. The bill would have created a dangerous public health and safety policy that would have allowed California bars, restaurants and nightclubs to continue selling alcohol from 2-4 a.m.

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"A decisive majority of the committee agreed that law enforcement in California would see more drunk driving deaths and more alcohol-related homicides if Leno's bar bill passed," stated Jorge Castillo, Advocacy Director at Alcohol Justice. "There was also acknowledgement that a 4 a.m. last call would result in inebriated drivers hitting the road during early morning commute hours."

The bill, authored by Senator Mark Leno, a respected public health leader up to now, may get a reconsideration vote if the Committee Chair calls for a special session on April 30th. If not, the bill will most likely be brought back next January. Opponents who believe SB 635 is a misguided bill that will only benefit bar & restaurant owners while threatening health and safety throughout California are determined to put a final stop to the measure whenever and wherever it appears again.

"The special interests of the restaurant associations and alcohol lobby suffered defeat today," said Richard Zaldivar, Executive Director of The Wall Las Memorias Project. "They must know that we are ready and able to organize against this bill or any other in the future that values alcohol sales more than public health and safety."

California suffers $38.4 billion in alcohol-related harm every year, with 10,000 lives lost and hundreds of thousands of additional injuries. "Perhaps if the bill contained a ten-cents per drink 'charge for harm' mitigation fee, it would stand a chance of passage," said Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director/CEO of Alcohol Justice.

Statewide Opposition includes:

Alcohol Justice
Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP)
Ban Billboard Blight
Bay Area Community Resources (BACR)
County Alcohol & Drug Program Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC)
California Council on Alcohol Problems (CALCAP)
California Narcotic Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
City of Los Angeles
City of Hermosa Beach
County of Sacramento
Friday Night Live
Institute for Public Strategies
Lutheran Office of Public Policy California
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
Los Angeles City Council Member Bernard Parks
Metro United Methodist Urban Ministry
NoAlcoholAds.org
P3 Partnership for a Positive Pomona
Paso Por Paso, Inc.
Phoenix House
Pueblo Y Salud, Inc.
People Reaching Out
Prevention Institute
Social Model Recovery Systems
The Wall – Las Memorias Project
WCTU
Women Against Gun Violence
Writers In Treatment
Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)