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Houston City Council plans to consider an ordinance that would rein in “bring your own bottle” (BYOB) establishments, Houston-based media outlets reported.
According to a report from Houston ABC affiliate KTRK, authorities have informed the 17-member body that there’s an increase in violent crime after what’s commonly known as last call at bars and clubs.
The station reported that out of the nine homicides that occurred at nightspots during the last six months, about half of them were committed after 2 a.m.
Thirty-three percent of the 30 robberies that took place after closing time happened in the same window, KTRK reported.
While police know about the statistics, it’s unknown as to the exact number of BYOB businesses within city limits.
The proposed measure would make it illegal for such a place that doesn’t have a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) permit to operate after midnight without proper authorization from Austin, punishable by a $500 fine per violation, Houston NPR affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM) reported.
"It's a way that a lot of our late night bars are circumventing the rules and the laws when they can't get certified by TABC, it’s creating a lot of not just quality life issues, but significant public safety risk," Councilwoman Abbie Kamin, who represents District C on the horseshoe and chairs the city’s Public Safety Committee, said, HPM reported.
Per HPM, Houston Police Department (HPD) Assistant Chief Ernest Garcia said certain BYOB’s operate in the blink of an eye.
"We don’t know the ones that we have, where they are or the locations of where they are,” Garcia said in the report. "Sometimes they pop up one weekend, and they’re gone the next."
KTRK reported that city hall has little legal footing to stand on when it comes to shuttering a BYOB business even if it’s where a crime is committed.
The city council could take the ordinance up for a vote in the middle of next month, according to the station.