Senate approves latest push to bring back 'Happy Hour' in Massachusetts
BOSTON - The Senate on Thursday approved the latest push to bring back "Happy Hour" to Massachusetts.
The State House News Service reports that in a late-night vote, senators approved Sen. Julian Cyr's (D-Truro) amendment that would give cities and towns the green light to allow discounted after-work drinks at restaurants and bars. The amendment was one of several attached to the Senate's $4.4 billion economic development bill, which also includes $500 million in tax rebates and $500 million in permanent tax relief.
Happy Hour has been banned in the state since 1984 in response to car crashes involving drivers who were overserved during drink promotions. Cyr's amendment would give cities and towns the power to set rules for Happy Hour, and drink discounts would not be allowed after 10 p.m.
"What this is is giving municipalities a tool who would want to have Happy Hour to be able to pursue it through a local option," Cyr said.
The proposal would have to clear some hurdles before there are any changes to the state's Happy Hour ban. It would have to survive a conference committee, where Senate and House negotiators will iron out differences between their respective economic development bills. Then it would have to be signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker, who has in the past been opposed to reviving Happy Hour.
"I remember what was going on the roads in Massachusetts when we had Happy Hours, and it was, there were some horrible, awful, horrible, terrible experiences on a very regular basis that came with Happy Hours back in the day," Baker told reporters last summer. "I know that probably makes me a stick in the mud to say such a thing, but I would start as a skeptic of going back to the way we ran Happy Hours."
Baker's office tells WBZ he will carefully review any legislation that lands on his desk. Those in favor of lifting the ban say safety has come a long way since 1984.
"Particularly with the emergence of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, this really helps get people to get home safely," Cyr said.
A MassINC poll from 2021 showed that 70% of residents want to see a Happy Hour comeback, but recent proposals to make it a reality haven't gone very far. An effort to repeal the ban failed to get enough signatures to make the 2022 ballot, and a legislative committee killed bills to look at bringing back Happy Hour earlier this year.