CAPA Stops the Push for Closing Time Deregulation for Another Year, as DUI and Drink Spiking Bills Falter
Updated December 1, 2025
The year comes to a close, for lawmakers, lobbyists, and advocates alike. After months of deliberative sturm und drang, we now know the final dispensation of the alcohol-related legislation in California. Key bills have been stopped, rewritten, pulled and/or delayed, as the legislative slate is finalized then wiped clean for 2026. Of the bills that moved forward, some offered hope for protective change while others frustratingly repeated past mistakes. Alcohol Justice, the California Alcohol Policy Alliance, and our many colleagues and allies pour have poured blood and ink into the progress that has made so far this year. Now we take a moment to evaluate, celebrate, and plan for the future.
Even as Alcohol Justice publishes this, legislators are planning their bills for 2025. Some years, these bills are even made public before the New Year has been rung in, but certainly the lion’s share will have been introduced by March of 2026.
Alcohol Justice and CAPA will continue to deliver opportunities to engage with policymakers between legislative seasons. Some of the bills that failed still have promise if reintroduced, and some that passed can be blunted (or even rolled back) with strategic intervention. With that in mind, the following bills bear highlighting, including the stopped 4 A.M. Bar Bill and bill to protect festival attendees from drink spiking, and the attenuated DUI diversion practices. Synopses are below, and details on these bills and many more are available on our CA Legislative Tracker webpage.
OPPOSE
AB 342, the 4 A.M. Bar Bill.
Status: DEAD, withdrawn by author.
2025’s version of the perennial, reckless effort to extend last call times in the state to 4 a.m. was halted in the Senate GO committee in early July. Possibly inspired by the successful passage of last year’s AB 3206, which allows 4 a.m. last call times only in the VIP area of Inglewood’s Staples Center, Assm. Matt Haney (D- San Francisco) spent the year pushing this weekends-only rewrite of last call extensions. By allowing later alcohol service hours, the bill would have undercut one of the pillars of alcohol prevention, as established by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. However, the bill was pulled in the Senate Appropriations committee after passing the Assembly, presumably owing to a combination of public outcry and legislator concerns. Despite this year’s victory for prevention, San Francisco’s delegation to the state legislature has spent over a decade relentlessly pursuing service hour deregulation—at this point, if it does not return in 2026, we will be pleasantly surprised.
SUPPORT
AB 366, Ignition Interlock Device for DUI Offenders.
Status: Signed Into Law (in amended form)
Ignition interlock devices (IIDs) are installed in the vehicles of individuals convicted of intoxicated driving, as an alternative to conditional licenses or license suspension. California already has a temporary pilot mandating these for offenders, which AB 366 will make permanent and expand. While IIDs are not a solution for intoxicated driving, they are a bridge to reduce repeat offending without resulting in license suspension. Alcohol Justice’s hope is that this creates a modicum of economic justice, allowing safer roads without putting individuals under the kind of financial risk that comes from a suspended license—the threat of which, in itself, could encourage them to drive illegally despite the conviction.
12/1 UPDATE: the bill has been amended to be only extend the duration of the ongoing pilot program, without expanding the IID mandate to all first-time offenders, and passed in this form. IIDs still face pushback, and good implementation requires coordination from across the government. Between opposing testimony and problems mobilizing governmental agencies, a continuation of the existing pilot was deemed feasible, but AB 366’s originally intended expansion was not.
AB 668, Drink Spiking Prevention at Festivals.
Status: Senate Appropriations Committee, Held under submission
Building on recent efforts to develop protective infrastructure around “drinking spiking” in bars and restaurants, AB 668 requires caterers and other alcohol licensees serving at outdoor festivals to help protect patrons from unwittingly consuming drugs put into their beverages. Under the terms of the bill, these licensees would be obligated to stock test kits for common adulterants, and follow established procedures to protect the patron and alert emergency services when someone believes their drink was tampered with. By reducing the chance that a drink spiking attempt goes unnoticed, and ensuring that victims are believed and receive care, the bill not only promotes short-term safety but begins the process of normative change, making attempts less likely to occur because they are less likely to be successful.
12/1 UPDATE: The bill was held under submission. However, having passed through the house of origin, it can be reintroduced as a two-year bill and we are hoping the author will take that step.
OTHER
AB 233 and AB 828, the Olympic Gold, Silver, and Blackout bills.
Status: Signed Into Law (AB 233, AB 828)
As Los Angeles gears up for the 2028 Summer Olympics, a raft of bills has been introduced which seek to expand alcohol service opportunities ahead of the influx of international tourism. This year, two bills stand out for their intent prepare the ground for the hoped-for torrent of alcohol money. Of the two, AB 828 brings the greater threat to public health and safety. It seeks to create a sudden explosion of full-service on-sale liquor licenses within specific Los Angeles neighborhoods, including Koreatown, Boyle Heights, and Pico-Union. Worryingly, the author of the bill has been explicit about the intent to target these districts because of the large concentration of racial/ethnic minority residents. The immediate surge of harms from alcohol outlet overconcentration, jet-fueled by international tourism, will flood communities that have historically been protected from these effects. The second bill, AB 233, has more of a technical slant—because of the expectations of heightened security on traffic in and out of Olympic Village area, alcohol distributors are seeking permission to temporarily store trailers of product instead of having to get box trucks through checkpoints every morning. Although the additional delivery options were requested based on the expectations of security around the games, these new permissions do not sunset—while there is uncertain impact on public consumption, the bill could have effects on pricing and availability down the line. With two more legislative sessions to go before the torch is lit, we should assume Los Angeles is far from finished with its efforts to piggyback long-term deregulation on the short-term desire for profit.
Alcohol Justice will continue monitoring bills as they are introduced. Since 2025 was the first year in a two-year cycle, some bills will neither succeed nor fail—rather, they will be kicked down the road and reintroduced early next year. We strive to keep the California public health and safety communities apprised of all forthcoming legislation. If you have not joined our mailing list already, please sign up here.
In the meantime, from all of us: thank you for the solidarity, the willingness to speak out, and the passion to protect our state.
READ the 2025 California Legislative Policy Tracker.
READ MORE about the impacts of extended last call times.