ByWTOC Staff|June 12, 2020 at 8:18 AM EDT - Updated June 12 at 8:18 AM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah city council is considering bringing back bar cards.
The topic came up Thursday while they were talking about a pilot open container zone for parts of the Victorian Neighborhood District. The pilot zone was supposed to start January 1st and end on March 31st, but the program expired due to COVID-19.
Council was scheduled to approve another 90-day pilot period to start yesterday and run through September 11th, but they pushed the decision back for another two weeks. However, the pilot program topic turned into a bigger discussion where several council members, including the mayor, brought up wanting to bring back the bar card program.
“We had a bar card program that had a bystander program and identification, and that was repealed by the previous council. And I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for those that issue alcohol to understand the responsibility they have and with that responsibility comes the necessary training,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.
The bar card program required anyone serving alcohol in a business to have a background check and server training. The program turned out to be controversial and it was discussed for years, including at city-hosted public meetings.
The bar card program was repealed in 2018.
Photo: Getty Images