Senator Kent Rogert wants to push back last call by one hour to 2:00am. The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission says the change probably wouldn't cause problems.
This is going to sound like a question with a hidden motive but I promise it isn't. Why force a closing time at all? I can think of lots of mediocre reasons that might be used to support a closing time, but I can't think of any really great reasons. Some of the mediocre reasons could become great with the right data to support them; likewise, some could become irrelevant.
For the sake of argument let's say that having a closing time is a great idea. Why set it at the state level? Isn't that more of a community-level decision?
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See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
For a bar, I would think that the market could determine a closing time if the state did not.
That’s what the UK did when they changed the alcohol licensing laws few years ago (before then, nearly all pubs in the UK closed at 11 p.m.). The results were pretty much in line with what Gene suggested: villages and small cities mostly standardized on midnight, larger cities around 2 a.m., and the largest cities have some open until 4 a.m. (or no closing time at all) on weekends.
The last time a similar bill came up before the Legislature, I asked Chief Casady’s opinion on the matter. While his response didn’t surprise me, it does highlight one annoyance I have with alcohol-related policy questions: Everyone who does it is either a shill for the liquor industry or from groups with a thinly-veiled neo-Prohibitionist agenda.
OT: Even though I understand why the limit’s in place, a 3-link maximum in comments is unfortunate. Search for “Licensing Act 2003” for more information about the UK experience and for “yobbish behavior” in the Chief’s blog.
Just a question - is Mr. Rogert a shill for the liquor industry? How much did they donate to his campaign fund? I don’t have any against it, it would just be good to know seeing as how he’s introduced two alcohol related bills (the other enabling consumption within state parks, which I support).
According to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, he received around $1200 in campaign contributions from alcohol-related organizations in 2006. (Note: Unicameral Votes Online has this information in an easier-to-search format, but doesn’t seem to break things down as thoroughly.)
Omaha needs this to pass. It is becoming a big city and in order to compete, it must be attractive to young professionals, who often like to stay at bars late. Another reason for Omaha is the close proximity of bars in Council Bluffs that are open until 2. I don’t care here, but Omaha needs this to stay competitive.
In addition to Omaha, I suppose there will be some bars in western Nebraska that would benefit by competing with their Mountain Standard Time neighbors.
As a parent whose children are approaching the legal drinking age, I worry a little about downtown bars staying open an extra hour. While I trust my kids’ judgment, I know that there are many young drinkers who only know how to stop when the bartender stops serving.
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