California parklets, to-go cocktails here to stay after Gov. Newsom signs COVID recovery bill

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. -- Governor Newsom signed a COVID-19 recovery package that helps bars and restaurants in California, making it possible for them to keep parklets open and continue to-go cocktails.

Newson signed Senate Bill 314 at an Oakland restaurant. The legislation, co-authored by San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener, gives businesses with parklets, officially known as temporary expanded premises, a one-year grace period to apply for permanent expansion.

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Bar and restaurants owners say the outdoor dining and drinking provided by the spaces gave them a chance to make it through the worst of the pandemic.

The governor also highlighted his California Comeback Plan which supports small businesses hit hardest by the pandemic. The plan includes a $4 billion investment creating the largest small business relief grant program in the nation, $6.2 billion in tax relief for small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans, and pandemic regulatory relief and license renewal fee waivers for heavily impacted businesses.

"Just signed 3 bills that will ensure these great additions to CA's restaurant life are here to stay - and that we're doing everything we can to support restaurants as we recover from COVID," Newsom tweeted on Friday.

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