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Outdoor restaurant dining in CT is extended into 2023

Bob Cooke, partner and co-owner of the Max Restaurant Group, watered planters surrounding the patio at Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford Center as they prepared to reopen for outdoor dining in 2020.
FILE PHOTO/CLOE POISSON / CTMIRROR.ORG
Bob Cooke, partner and co-owner of the Max Restaurant Group, watered planters surrounding the patio at Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford Center as they prepared to reopen for outdoor dining in 2020.

The Senate unanimously voted for final passage Wednesday of a bill extending by 13 months the right of restaurants to offer outdoor dining, as initially authorized by one of the Gov. Ned Lamont’s orders during the COVID-19 emergency.

Anything that undermines local zoning authority can be problematic in the legislature, but lawmakers in both parties said the consensus was to give the hospitality industry at least another season of outdoor dining as a legal right.

Sen. Norm Needleman, a Democrat who also serves as the first selectman of Essex, said he was voting for passage after consulting with local land-use offices in his community and district.

“They all do understand that the greater good here is to try to let these guys recover,” Needleman said.

With every Democrat and a majority of Republicans in support, the House passed the measure, House Bill 5271, last week on a vote of 121-21.

A year ago, the legislature enshrined the basics of the order in a temporary state law, a gesture to a restaurant industry that was hard hit by the pandemic and identified outdoor dining as vital to keeping many eateries viable.

Without the new law, the right to outdoor dining would expire on March 31. The governor’s signature is certain.

The extension was supported by the two associations that represent municipalities, the Connecticut Council of Small Towns and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and sought by the restaurant industry.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.