By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – The Omaha City Council plans to begin discussion Tuesday on a two AM closing time ordinance for bars.
Governor Dave Heineman signed the bill in to law in April. It allows cities to pass a law giving bars the option of staying open until two AM. Mayor Jim Suttle says a later bar closing time allows the city to better accommodate Omaha's under 40 social scene. "The starting time may be eight, nine and the end time more like two AM, three AM, four AM," Suttle says. "So I think we have to be accommodating of the different social styles, the social clocks that our various generations of people follow."
Suttle says extended bar hours would also mean more sales tax revenue for the city. He says he isn't concerned about possible safety issues arising from a later bar closing time.
If the City Council approves the two AM closing time ordinance June 18, it'll take effect in mid-July.