FRANKFORT, Ky. — Bars and restaurants in Kentucky will be allowed to stay open an hour later under new guidance issued by Governor Andy Beshear Tuesday.

The new rules allow those businesses to serve customers until 11 p.m. and close completely by midnight.

Beshear said The White House recommends tighter restrictions, but he wants to take a different approach.

“We are trying through a different method utilized by Ohio and a number of other states at having some different rules and restrictions that keep people from going to house parties, for instance,” Beshear said. “(Rules) that provide an avenue for these small businesses yet still provide the protections that we’re looking for.”

Beshear says the guidance comes at the request of restaurant and bar owners who want to stay open later. Part of the reasoning is because more sporting events are on now, some of which run late into the night.

“But again, let’s make sure that whether you’re in that industry or in any other that has some rules and regulations that you’re trying to do it right,” Beshear said. “That we’re not trying to find a way to get around it.”

Capacity limits at restaurants and bars will remain the same as before at 50 percent. Outdoor seating is still encouraged.

Breonna Taylor Reaction

 

Beshear said he learned details of the settlement Breonna Taylor’s family reached with the city of Louisville over her death in March as those details were released Tuesday afternoon.

“A settlement is an agreement, and that means both the city of Louisville and Breonna Taylor’s family agree that this is a positive step, at least in part, that both agreed was a right step to take,” Beshear said.

Beshear said he’s open to discussing how some of the reforms included in the settlement could be implemented at the statewide level, like new regulations on how warrants are issued and more police training.

“I think that there is a lot of ground in which there can be discussions about improvement,” Beshear said. “And I think that our law enforcement would be one of the first to say if there are areas that there is grounds for discussions about doing things better, we all want to improve.”

Beshear said talks about a possible special session to deal with police reform are ongoing and he wants to nail down specifics about what reforms lawmakers are going to address.