San Francisco residents may soon be able to drink and revel in the celebration of life for two extra hours in the early morning if a bill, soon to be introduced by State Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), wins approval.

The bill will extend the last call time at bars and clubs from the current 2 a.m. to about 4 a.m., and will apply to cities in California with more than 500,000 people, which includes Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco.

Leno, who was unavailable for comment, has until Feb. 20 to submit the bill, which will be voted on in the California Assembly and Senate. If approved by both, it will await Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature.

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, District 3, has written a resolution in support of the new bill, which the Board of Supervisors voted on last Tuesday. Approval would add support and momentum to Leno’s drive for the bill.

“We have received over 500 emails in the past two days alone from residents saying they would love to see the hours extended,” said David Owen, an aide for Supervisor Peskin.

According to the resolution presented to the Board, extended hours would make San Francisco a more desirable tourist destination and lower alcohol related accidents.

The National Traffic Safety Administration conducted a 2001 study of traffic deaths related to alcohol and found that states with later last call hours had fewer alcohol related driving deaths than states with earlier closing hours. The connection between last call times and average percent of traffic deaths related to alcohol in this study showed 44.5 percent of deaths were related to alcohol in states with 1-1:30 a.m. and 42 percent in states with 4 a.m. last call times.

This suggests that early closing hours cause patrons to drink right up until closing time and drive sooner after drinking than if they were allowed to sober up and leave at a later time.

Officer Dewayne Tully of the San Francisco Police Department said if drinking hours were extended, the police’s main concern would not be so much an increase in alcohol related assaults or public drunkenness, but an increase of noise at later hours.

“We have lots of residential areas around establishments that will be staying open longer,” said Tully. “Residents may be used to hearing the end of the party at 2 a.m. but not until 4 a.m. People have to get up in the morning.”

Another issue Tully mentioned was covering shifts for the later hours.

“We’ll need to revise our deployment of officers,” he said. “Will we need to add on extra shifts or hire extra officers? Will overtime be involved? Our budget is already stretched thin as it is.”

Joshua Grannell isn’t too worried about the noise. He lives directly above Twin Peaks, a popular bar in the Castro.

“I think they should do it,” he said. “It will bring more people out and more money to the neighborhood.”

Joanne Lee, a bartender at International Café in North Beach, added: “As a drinker, I think it will be so much fun to be able to hang out and drink for 2 more hours. But as a bartender, I know it’s going to be tough because already when I’m working late I can’t wait for 2 a.m. to come along so I can go home, so 4 a.m. is going to be hard.”

Cedre Csillagi lives in the Mission District, where there are many bars and restaurants.

“It’s stupid they don’t do it here,” said Csillagi. “In Britain, they’re open all night.”

California, despite it progressive reputation, is one of the few states in the country that has such an early last call time. Texas, Hawaii, Tennessee, Georgia, Alaska, New York, and Illinois all have cities with last call times ranging from 3:30 a.m. to 5 a.m. Mississippi, Nevada and New Jersey allow alcohol serving establishments to remain open 24 hours a day. London, and many other large international tourist destinations, allows venues to sell alcohol all day and all night to entice global travelers.

There were mixed reactions to the proposed last call time at SF State.

Kristen Lee, who works at the bookstore on campus, said it would be great to have that option, but “it might be pointless. I don’t know how many people would drink that late. I probably won’t be there.”

“Won’t it be hard for the people who have to serve that late to work such long shifts?” asked Lee.

Michael Atallah, a student at SF State, was excited to hear of the later hours.

“I DJ in the city and I think if places like Whisper and Club 6 could stay open longer, it would open up the market a little bit more,” said Atallah. “There will be so much more potential for dancers and people who love music and the nightlife. People who want to be there will be there and it will be fun.”