This fall, ASU students will be able to stay at their favorite bars for an additional hour.
Gov. Janet Napolitano signed the Last Call Act into law Tuesday, which will allow bars and liquor stores to sell alcohol until 2 a.m., instead of the current 1 a.m. cutoff.
The bill will go into effect 90 days after the legislative session wraps up. The session has no set end date, but if past years are any indication, legislators probably will head home in May or June, putting the law into effect sometime in August or September.
Even though she approved the bill, Napolitano had a few reservations.
"Even as I sign the bill, I'm still concerned about the impact it could have on our citizens and on state and local law enforcement," she said.
In a letter she sent after approving the legislation, Napolitano requested that the Department of Public Safety, Office of Highway Safety and Department of Liquor Licenses and Control keep an eye on the effects of the law and report to her in six months.
In Tempe, students, police and bar owners had mixed feelings about the later last call.
Journalism freshman Andrew Moe shares Napolitano's concerns about public safety.
The state should focus on reducing drunk drivers instead of trying to increase tourism revenue by encouraging drinking, he said.
"It saddens me because I'm also a Democrat and it saddens me that a Democratic governor would sign that into law," Moe said.
But Tempe Police Sgt. Dan Masters said he was not worried about the effects of the extended drinking hours.
The law will not put a strain on the police department's resources, he said.
"We'll probably have to change some of the hours our officers work," Masters said. "We normally do our shift changes in May anyways."
Steve Goumas, owner of Tempe bar Rula Bula, said the new 2 a.m. closing time shouldn't cause problems.
Most of Rula Bula's patrons have a tendency to drink quickly so they can be out of the bar before last call, he said.
The extra hour will stagger the times people leave the bar instead of sending patrons to the streets all at once, Goumas explained.
But students probably will take full advantage of the 2 a.m. closing, he added.
"In regards to ASU students, it's just another hour to go crazy," Goumas said.
Most bars probably will not see a significant increase in revenue, but employees and job seekers will benefit from the new closing time, he said.
"It'll provide more jobs because I'll probably have to put another bartender on," Goumas said.
Andy Long, a math and German senior and a liquor store employee for more than two years, agreed.
"I've been hearing talk about it and a lot of complaints against the one o'clock [closing time]," he said. "It's an extra hour of work for me, but I guess that's okay because it's a couple bucks in my pocket."
Reach the reporter at amanda.keim@asu.edu.
