Lawmaker’s bill allowing later bar hours stalls

BRIDGEPORT — A bill that would allow some restaurants, bars and other venues serving alcohol in Connecticut to extend their hours to 4 a.m. won’t get a hearing this legislative session, according to the chair of the committee that would have heard the bill.

State Rep. Mike D’Agostino, a Hamden Democrat and chair of the general law legislative committee, said committee leaders didn’t want to advance the bill following last month’s death of state Rep. Quentin “Q” Williams, who was killed in a head-on crash with another vehicle heading in the wrong direction. The investigation on that fatal crash, though, was still ongoing as of last month.

“We didn’t think it was the right time to talk about it this year. Maybe next year,” said D’Agostino, who also pointed to concerns from some law enforcement officials.

Connecticut law allows venues like restaurants and bars to serve alcohol until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

The bill was proposed by state Rep. Christopher Rosario, a Bridgeport Democrat. Rosario said he first introduced a version of the measure in 2016. But it hasn’t gotten a hearing or committee vote since, he said.

The legislation would create a pilot program that would allow some establishments licensed to serve alcohol to extend hours to 4 a.m. Only those in Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Stamford, Waterbury and West Hartford would be allowed to participate in the program.

Rosario previously said he wants to help business owners boost nightlife after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said he’s spoken to southern Connecticutbased DJs and club promoters who are thrilled by the proposal, because it would mean they could take gigs closer to home instead of traveling to New York.

On Thursday, he said the proposal is a way to increase state revenues.

“In order for you to get a license you have to go to the state liquor commission,” he said. “So you would need a special license to serve at 4 a.m. So there will be more revenue to the state.”

Rosario also pitched the proposal as a way to address public safety. He said Fairfield County is among areas in Connecticut with a vibrant nightlife, but residents are instead going to New York City, where bars and nightclubs often close at 4 a.m.

Getting the bill signed into law, he said, would help ensure clubbers “aren’t driving from New York State, driving on (Interstate) 95 at 4:30, 5 a.m. in the morning,” Rosario said.

Cheshire Police Chief Neil Dryfe, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said he has personal concerns about the bill. Dryfe, who worked for the Hartford Police Department for more than two decades, worries the measure would lead to an “increased drain in police resources.”

While working in the capital city, he said a handful of police officers were assigned to patrol downtown on Friday and Saturday nights until bars closed at 2 a.m.

“There’s a lot of noise and especially some fights, things that the police had to respond to and deal with,” Dryfe said. “The amount of resources and the amount of time that police departments are going to have to spend policing those areas is going to increase just by virtue of the fact that the bars are open later.”

There’s also the risk that a few residents would spend the added two hours allowed under the measure to drink more before driving a vehicle, he said.

“It’s unfortunate, but I think it’s reality,” Dryfe said.