A 4 a.m. last call at bars and nightclubs in Fresno? Let’s pass on that DUI potential

Fresno has a drinking problem. Or, more specifically, an issue with drinking and driving. Last year, police made 1,680 arrests for driving under the influence. That works out to 4.6 arrests every day for a year.

Those are just the drivers caught by police. Without question, there were intoxicated drivers on the road who went undetected and somehow made it safely to wherever they were going.

So it is more than alarming that a proposed bill in the state Senate would extend the last-call deadline for drinks from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. for seven cities in a pilot project. Fresno is one of the participants. The others are Oakland, Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Coachella, West Hollywood and San Francisco.

They are listed in Senate Bill 930, a new effort by Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco. Two previous efforts by the Democrat failed in the past, including one bill that former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed.

“We have enough mischief from midnight to 2 a.m. without adding two more hours of mayhem,” Brown wrote in his veto message.

Fresno once earned the dubious title of “America’s drunkest city,” and it ranks high on a national list for worst drunken driving.

According to a study by BuyAutoInsurance.com, Fresno was ninth on the top 10 list of American cities for worst drunken driving. The study noted that Fresno averages 648 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents, and 1,148 arrests per yer.

Anyone convicted in Fresno for driving under the influence can expect a 100% jump in the cost of car insurance, the study noted.

Fresno sets its rules

In Wiener’s view, the extension provides a much-needed business opportunity to restaurants, bars and nightclubs that were hard hit by closures during the COVID pandemic.

Nor is it surprising that the list of cities in the pilot project have sizable LGBTQ communities. The operator of an LGBTQ bar in San Francisco told the Los Angeles Times that “nightlife has been a haven for the LGBTQ community.”

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said the idea of being a pilot city came up while he was still police chief and Lee Brand was mayor. Taking part in the extended hours was seen then as a way to stimulate business downtown, Dyer told The Bee Editorial Board.

He believes that is still true, and so agreed to remain a pilot city when Wiener developed SB 930. A key for Dyer is the ability to tailor the rules to Fresno’s needs. For example, he would want the longer hours only for Friday and Saturday nights. Bars near neighborhoods would not be granted the extra time.

Dyer agrees that drunken driving is a problem. But he is not so sure added hours for alcohol sales at select bars and nightclubs would make it worse.

The 4 a.m. deadline would start no sooner than Jan. 1, 2025, and be in effect until Jan. 2, 2030. The bill includes a host of other provisions participating cities would have to meet. Additionally, businesses would have to obtain a liquor license for those added hours. (Liquor stores would not be allowed to take part).

The Assembly Appropriations Committee is to take up the bill next week.

‘Bone-headed’ law

While there might be benefits to participating businesses, one expert on the impacts of drinking sees only problems.

Paul Gruenewald, a senior research scientist at the nonprofit Prevention Research Center of Berkeley, told The New York Times that extending bar hours means more people can drink each night, or drink longer.

“It’s not at all surprising: more alcohol, more problems,” Gruenewald told The Times. “It’s got to be one of the most bone-headed things I can imagine.”

Dyer is well-intentioned in wanting to stimulate downtown business. But the city already has too many problems with drivers who had too much to drink.

Thankfully, this concept has distance to travel to become real. First Wiener’s bill must clear the Senate and Assembly, then Gov. Newsom has to sign it into law. Then the pilot cities have to decide to participate.

The bartender’s “last call” shout should remain at 2 a.m. in Fresno, where it has been since the 1933 adoption of the 21st Amendment and the end of Prohibition.