ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – As midnight approaches on New Year’s Eve, you may want to thank the state legislature for keeping the party going. Normally, bars have to close early on a Sunday night, but not this coming weekend.

Depending on where you go, the countdown to 2018 will not be ruined by the bartender yelling out “last call” before midnight.

It doesn’t happen often, but this year, New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday, and if you’re familiar with New Mexico alcohol laws, you know it can’t be served or sold after midnight on Sundays.

“We do our last call 30 minutes before we close, so we would have done it at 11:30 p.m. and kicked everybody out at five till 12:00 a.m,” Chris Hurtley, General Manager of Spectators in the Northeast Heights, said.

What you might not know, however, is that earlier this year state lawmakers passed a bill, which Gov. Susana Martinez signed off on, that allows establishments with the proper license to stay open until 2 a.m. Monday when New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe.

For the most part, this applies to clubs, breweries and bars, like Spectators and Nob Hill Bar and Grill.

“We get to stay open. It helps us, it helps our patrons. That way they’re not scrambling to find somewhere to go at 10 minutes till midnight,” Hurtley said.

“New Year’s is a big holiday, especially for these local places. This is how we thrive, is on holidays like this,” Mikayla Nowell said, who works at Nob Hill Bar and Grill.

Both establishments say the new law is good for business, it’s just a matter of getting the word out.

Nowell said Nob Hill Bar and Grill is posting reminders to its social media accounts, along with relying on word of mouth and people who might be in the area Sunday night.

Spectators also has signs on its doors letting patrons know.

If you do decide to take advantage of the new law, you can also take advantage of a free ride. In Bernalillo County, use the code “ABQNYE17” to get up to $10 off an Uber ride that begins or ends in Albuquerque.

There is one major catch to this new law, however. If you live in a town or one of New Mexico’s 11 counties that does not allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays, it does not apply.

The next time this law will be applicable is New Year’s Eve 2023.

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