The latest version of this story can be found here.California lawmakers on Tuesday night quietly passed a bill that will flex state law by allowing alcohol sales inside of a club in the future arena of the Los Angeles Clippers until 4 a.m. The bill, AB 3206, will only allow that very early morning sale of alcohol inside of a small club in the new Intuit Dome arena in Inglewood. That club is expected to have a maximum capacity of 100 people in the arena that seats 18,000. The Clippers are set to start playing in the new arena in the upcoming NBA season. State law generally prohibits alcohol sales anywhere between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Lawmakers in the State Senate debated the bill for about five minutes before approving it with the minimum amount of votes needed 21-14 with five lawmakers abstaining from the vote. In a statement on Wednesday, the lawmaker who wrote the bill, Assemblymember Tina McKinnor said, “AB 3206 is limited in scope, includes numerous safeguards to protect public health and safety, including approval by the Inglewood City Council and will provide another entertainment option to compliment the over $2 billion of private investment in Inglewood’s recently opened Intuit Dome.” “Inglewood’s renaissance is well underway and I thank my colleagues in the State Senate and State Assembly for their support of the incredible growth taking place in the City of Champions,” McKinnor said.”This is actually a very exclusive club inside a venue being built right now that will only allow exclusive members to drink until 4 o’clock in the morning,” said Republican State Sen. Kelly Seyarto during the debate on the Senate floor. “If they think opening venues and having drinking until 4 o’clock in the morning is good for just exclusive groups then it should be for everyone, and my contingent is, it’s not good for anyone.” The Los Angeles Clippers are owned by Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft. State campaign finance data show Ballmer and the entity he owns, Murphy’s Bowl LLC, have not made political donations to individual members of the legislature since 2021. Connie Ballmer, Steve’s wife, contributed $1 million to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to fight his recall in 2021. The couple also contributed $500,000 to former State Senate leader Toni Atkins’ campaign committee for Proposition 1 in 2022, which enshrined the right to an abortion in California’s constitution. KCRA 3 reached out to the Clippers organization for comment but did not hear back as of Wednesday night. The proposal is now heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.”Our office does not typically comment on pending legislation,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for the governor. “The Governor will evaluate the Legislature’s proposal on its merits if it reaches his desk.” The measure still requires approval from local government. If approved, the special extension of alcohol sales for the club would last until 2030. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
The latest version of this story can be found here.
California lawmakers on Tuesday night quietly passed a bill that will flex state law by allowing alcohol sales inside of a club in the future arena of the Los Angeles Clippers until 4 a.m.
The bill, AB 3206, will only allow that very early morning sale of alcohol inside of a small club in the new Intuit Dome arena in Inglewood. That club is expected to have a maximum capacity of 100 people in the arena that seats 18,000. The Clippers are set to start playing in the new arena in the upcoming NBA season.
State law generally prohibits alcohol sales anywhere between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Lawmakers in the State Senate debated the bill for about five minutes before approving it with the minimum amount of votes needed 21-14 with five lawmakers abstaining from the vote.
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🧵 California lawmakers last night quietly sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that would allow alcohol sales until 4am inside of the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers—Intuit Dome in Inglewood.
AB 3206 barely passed the Senate floor last night after 5 mins of discussion. The vote: pic.twitter.com/Chh6wXUQ6r
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) August 21, 2024
In a statement on Wednesday, the lawmaker who wrote the bill, Assemblymember Tina McKinnor said, “AB 3206 is limited in scope, includes numerous safeguards to protect public health and safety, including approval by the Inglewood City Council and will provide another entertainment option to compliment the over $2 billion of private investment in Inglewood’s recently opened Intuit Dome.”
“Inglewood’s renaissance is well underway and I thank my colleagues in the State Senate and State Assembly for their support of the incredible growth taking place in the City of Champions,” McKinnor said.
“This is actually a very exclusive club inside a venue being built right now that will only allow exclusive members to drink until 4 o’clock in the morning,” said Republican State Sen. Kelly Seyarto during the debate on the Senate floor. “If they think opening venues and having drinking until 4 o’clock in the morning is good for just exclusive groups then it should be for everyone, and my contingent is, it’s not good for anyone.”
The Los Angeles Clippers are owned by Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft. State campaign finance data show Ballmer and the entity he owns, Murphy’s Bowl LLC, have not made political donations to individual members of the legislature since 2021.
Connie Ballmer, Steve’s wife, contributed $1 million to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign to fight his recall in 2021. The couple also contributed $500,000 to former State Senate leader Toni Atkins’ campaign committee for Proposition 1 in 2022, which enshrined the right to an abortion in California’s constitution.
KCRA 3 reached out to the Clippers organization for comment but did not hear back as of Wednesday night.
The proposal is now heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
“Our office does not typically comment on pending legislation,” said Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for the governor. “The Governor will evaluate the Legislature’s proposal on its merits if it reaches his desk.”
The measure still requires approval from local government.
If approved, the special extension of alcohol sales for the club would last until 2030.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter