The idea behind the bill is to bring foot traffic back to downtown areas following the pandemic
A California law under consideration would allow cities to designate areas where people could drink alcohol in public streets.
Introduced by State Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco , Senate Bill 969 would put cities in control of creating “Entertainment Zones” where public drinking would be permitted.
The idea behind the bill is to bring foot traffic back to downtown areas following the pandemic, Wiener told local news outlet KRON .
“Cities in California vary widely in their recovery trajectories, but none has yet reached the levels of foot traffic seen in 2019 in their downtowns. This reduced activity threatens to stymie economic recovery in San Francisco,” Wiener told the outlet.
Certain licensed businesses in California are currently allowed to sell alcoholic beverages to-go, but restaurants and bars are not. The proposed law would allow bars and restaurants to sell to-go drinks as well in designated “Entertainment Zones.”