Senate approves bill allowing restaurants to serve alcohol at noon on weekdays

Senate Bill 7, which would allow restaurants to serve alcoholic beverages beginning at 12 noon Monday through Friday, passed the Utah Senate on Jan. 25, 1993.

Sponsor Senator Robert Steiner told the chamber SB 7 is “the restaurant hours bill, which would allow restaurants to serve alcoholic beverages at 12 noon, Monday through Friday,” arguing the change is a matter of fairness for the state’s roughly 300 licensed restaurants and would simplify Utah’s liquor laws for visitors. “I would urge your support,” Steiner said on the floor.

Opponents raised public-safety and precedent concerns. A member who reported back from the alcoholic-beverage committee said the committee had previously agreed to a compromise of a 1 p.m. start time to address safety questions about lunchtime consumption and road safety; that senator said he intended to vote against the bill for those reasons, though not with great conviction. The committee’s advisory bodies were cited as having reviewed the bill and—depending on the panel—endorsed or offered reservations about the change.

After floor debate and a roll-call voice procedure naming senators in attendance, the clerk reported the result: 22 ayes, 5 nays, 2 absent. The Senate president announced the bill passes and it will be transmitted to the House for further action.

The next procedural step is consideration in the House; the Senate did not specify a House committee assignment on the floor. No amendments to the bill were recorded during the floor debate on Jan. 25.

Ending: The Senate recorded the passage and ordered SB 7 sent to the House for their further action.