Bill Allowing 4 a.m. Downtown Bar Closings Clears Senate

A bill that would allow some Michigan municipalities the right to allow bars to remain open until 4 a.m. passed the Senate Thursday. (Photo by Henrik Chulu via Creative Commons )

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The state Senate approved a controversial measure Thursday that would give municipalities the authority to allow bars in their central business districts to stay open until 4 a.m., despite opposition from groups who say it would burden already taxed police forces and potentially increase alcohol-related fatalities during the morning commute.

The measure, which the Senate previously turned down, passed on a 22-14 vote and now heads to the House for consideration, the Detroit Free Press reports. If it passes there in the lame-duck session of the legislature, Gov. Rick Snyder would still have to sign it.

The proposed legislation is intended to level the playing field for bars, which now must close at 2 a.m., while so-called “blind pigs” – unregulated after-hours clubs – operate outside the law. Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, said in testimony earlier this year the change would promote a “safe environment.”

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Business owners also said it would help Detroit compete for tourism dollars against cities like Chicago and New York, where extended hours are the norm.

“In Detroit, we have so many things going on that this could help – the casinos, hotels, limousine and taxi industries,” Nico Gatzaros, whose family owns Fishbones and the London Chop House in Detroit, told a Senate committee exploring the issue last year.

Mike Tobias, executive director of the Michigan Alcohol Policy volunteer group, said the change could make the morning commute more dangerous. “People going to work in the morning are going to have to be worried about being hit by a drunk driver now,” he said.

The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police also opposes the legislation, which is proposed to a time when the numbers when the number of police officers has dwindled by about 4,000 in recent years.

If the legislation does clear the final hurdles, only municipalities with improvement districts, such as downtown development authorities, would be able to extend the hours that bars and restaurants could serve alcohol.

Businesses would also have to apply for a $10,000 annual permit. Local police departments would get 85 percent of the revenues, the Liquor Control Commission would get 10 percent and the local government would get 5 percent.

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