A senator from San Francisco is proposing a bill to keep the party going past 2 a.m. SB 635 would allow cities and counties to extend bar hours until as late as 4 a.m.
But, not everyone is raising a glass to the idea.
Last call usually comes around 1:30 a.m., but Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco is looking to change that.
Leno's proposed bill would allow cities and counties to decide if restaurants and bars can serve alcohol until as late as 4 a.m. The goal is to enable California cities to compete with places like New York and Chicago.
But, some restaurant employees in Bakersfield have concerns.
"On the weekends we're here until three, sometimes at the latest maybe 4 a.m. You throw in the extra two hours, you're looking at not getting out of work until possibly six or seven, especially on a busy weekend or holidays," said M.J. Martinez, Bar Manager at the Padre Hotel.
Some of the pros of the bill include job growth and a boost in revenue for businesses. But, there is still concern over consistency among local bars and how patrons would get to and from each establishment safely.
"What we're looking at is some consistency and standardization across the state in relation to the hours that establishments are open for serving alcohol. Whether individuals would go from one bar to the next, if one bar closes at two o'clock and another bar closes at four, would that individual travel from one location to the next impaired to get to an establishment that closes at a later time?," said Mark Dandeneau, California MADD Director.
While MADD remains neutral at the state level on the legislation, bar owners would ultimately get to choose whether to keep serving drinks after 2 a.m.
"You know, as the bar goes there's always the business side of things where you have the potential of making more money, serving more drinks, food, alcohol of course, so in that aspect I guess it's a good thing," said Martinez.
The proposed bill only applies to bars and restaurants, not liquor stores.
It has been referred to committee for further review.
