NH bill would push back last call for bars to 2 a.m.
Apr. 26—Nights out in New Hampshire could soon last a little longer, with a proposal to extend last call for alcohol in the Granite State by an hour headed to the Senate following its passage in the House.
HB 1227, sponsored by Rep. Jessica Grill, D-Manchester, would push last call for alcoholic beverage sales at bars and restaurants to 2 a.m., with an option for communities to extend that to 3 a.m. with passage of a warrant article or local ordinance.
Under the bill, bars and restaurants aren't required to stay open that late, "just as they can close earlier than 1 a.m. now," Grill said.
Kavan Harris of Manchester is "100 percent" behind a later closing time.
"I'm an avid bargoer and stay out till 1 a.m., and there's times when it's like, 'S---! It's closing' and I still want to be here and hang out," Harris said during a night out with friends at City Hall Pub on Hanover Street. "There's some people that just aren't good when they get drunk, but you can't blame it on being open until 2 a.m.
"I'm all for it — it's a good way for businesses to make more money."
But not everyone is ready to buy another round.
"We are opposed to this bill, particularly along the lines of motor vehicle fatalities that happen across the state that are attributed to some level of impairment," Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said.
"The roads are already dangerous enough at that hour of the night — or the morning, I should say."
About one-third of all fatal crashes involve alcohol-impaired drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In 2009, the most recent year for which such detailed data is available, two-thirds of fatal crashes from midnight to 3 a.m. involved an impaired driver — twice the overall average. Two-thirds of all highway fatalities between midnight and 3 a.m. occurred in alcohol-impaired crashes, and more than half (55%) of the drivers involved in fatal crashes at those hours were alcohol-impaired.
'Nothing good happens after midnight'
Mike Somers, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association, testified against the bill in a public hearing earlier this year, saying "nothing good happens after midnight."
"I think that this is a rather complicated issue for the industry," Somers said. "It really gets down to, it's not just about an extra hour, more sales, because it's much more than that.
"Under some of the licenses that these businesses carry, they're required to have food available while these alcohols are being served," he said. "So then it's not just a couple of bartenders, you've got to have at least one person in the kitchen, that person has to be ServSafe-trained, you have to have the equipment turned on, the food system running, so ancillary costs become attached to it."
Grill said when state law governing serving hours was last updated, customers had far fewer options for a safe ride home than they do now.
With the proliferation of ride-sharing services and state educational campaigns, New Hampshire experienced a 13.9% decrease in drunken-driving deaths per capita from 2010 to 2019, Grill said.
Although drunken-driving fatalities increased in 2020 and 2021, Grill said, that uptick occurred while bars and restaurants were either closed for COVID or had limited service, "which indicates that there are other factors at play besides bar and restaurant closing time."
Grill said while some are worried that later last calls could lead to increases in overall crime, a 2017 study showed increased foot traffic is linked to lower crime rates.
"Although correlation does not equal causation, this suggests that residents and visitors are more engaged with their communities when commercial activity is present," Grill said. "Essentially, this bill is about choice — it will expand commerce for businesses statewide while giving cities more options to meet the needs of their residents."
Cops: Thumbs down on bottoms up
Sebastian Fuentes, political director for the Rights & Democracy Project and an 18-year veteran of the hospitality industry, said it's a common occurrence at hotels, especially after weddings, for guests to head elsewhere to find alcohol because venues here close earlier than in other states.
"We have a lot of instances where they go off-site, they go drinking on their own, and that's when a lot of the issues with the local law enforcement happen," Fuentes said.
Mark Armaganian, chief of enforcement for the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, opposes the bill, saying the extra hour of service would create an "unfunded mandate."
"Once you create longevity with hours of service, enforcement has to be out longer," Armaganian said. "You have the unintended consequence of the jurisdictions that don't want this to happen, they have to put resources on the road, and I feel that this is a burden that's going to be put on the taxpayer at the end of the day.
"We're looking at this from an industry standpoint, and I think we need to look at this from a safety standpoint and a law enforcement standpoint."
Manchester Chief Aldenberg said his department already dedicates "many resources to bar closing time in the downtown area."
"I have a bar car — an overtime detail, if you will — dedicated to the bar patrols," Aldenberg said. "So those are for unruly behavior or disorderly conduct that takes place right around that 12:30, 1 o'clock-in-the-morning timeframe. And they want to extend it to 2."
Aldenberg said the option for communities to push last call to 3 a.m. with an ordinance or warrant article only reinforces his position.
"I think now you're just adding fuel to the fire by allowing people to drink longer."
Tim Baines, owner of City Hall Pub and a former Manchester alderman, said he's waiting to see "how things play out" with the bill.
"I don't think it would have much impact on how we operate," Baines said. "We close at midnight, and I don't think we'll change anything."
Getting customers' attention
Trina Morasse of Sandown likes the idea.
"I'm pretty old, so I don't know that I would stay out that late at night, but I do think it's good for the local economy," Morasse said. "I think it attracts a younger population, and that fuels more innovative, relevant industries. You want to attract people to tech, or science, or basically any of those industries, and why would you move here if everything closes early?"
Austin Chambers of Auburn and Mark Buntsev of Bedford were having dinner and drinks at the bar at City Hall Pub when a reporter mentioned HB 1227. It was the first they had heard of it, but as Buntsev said, "2 a.m.? You have my full attention."
"I think it's a good idea as long as they keep the food open just as late," Chambers said. "The biggest con against it is drunk driving, but I think that's already an issue. It's just an extra hour, and most states already do it anyway — what's the big deal?"
"Yeah, as long as there's something to snack on, I don't see any issue with it personally," Buntsev said. "Everyone ends up going to the Red Arrow anyways. Maybe just beer and wine past 1, not liquor? That might work."
Several New Hampshire residents submitted comments online in support of the bill.
"As somebody who is still young in spirit (still 30), I find myself out with friends at a local establishment only to have our night cut short by a last call that comes shortly after midnight," wrote Brandon Lemay of Manchester. "I don't drink anymore, but I find it hard to enjoy my nights off from work when our enjoyment is cut off so early. "
Nicholas Sarwark of Manchester wrote, "Giving the freedom to business owners to adjust their hours to meet market demand will improve the economy of the Granite State and our ability to compete with neighboring states to attract businesses, support existing businesses, and attract people to fill those jobs."
The state Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled to take up HB 1227 on Tuesday at 10:20 a.m. in Room 100 at the State House.
