California parklets, to-go cocktails here to stay after Gov. Newsom signs COVID recovery bill

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Governor Newsom signed a COVID-19 recovery package that helps bars and restaurants in California, making it possible for them to keep parklets open and continue to-go cocktails.

Newson signed Senate Bill 314 at an Oakland restaurant. The legislation, co-authored by San Francisco State Senator Scott Wiener, gives businesses with parklets, officially known as temporary expanded premises, a one-year grace period to apply for permanent expansion.

RELATED: SF restaurant owners say PG&E forced them to remove dining parklet

Bar and restaurants owners say the outdoor dining and drinking provided by the spaces gave them a chance to make it through the worst of the pandemic.

The governor also highlighted his California Comeback Plan which supports small businesses hit hardest by the pandemic. The plan includes a $4 billion investment creating the largest small business relief grant program in the nation, $6.2 billion in tax relief for small businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program loans, and pandemic regulatory relief and license renewal fee waivers for heavily impacted businesses.

"Just signed 3 bills that will ensure these great additions to CA's restaurant life are here to stay - and that we're doing everything we can to support restaurants as we recover from COVID," Newsom tweeted on Friday.

VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine

Having trouble loading the tracker above? Click here to open it in a new window.

RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS:

• Map shows everywhere you can get a COVID-19 test in the Bay Area
• Mask mandates are back in Bay Area, so what's the safest one to wear? Here's what doctor says
• What we know about the delta variant of COVID-19 following new CDC report
• Lambda and delta plus: What to know about other COVID variants detected in US
• Should vaccinated people get tested if exposed to COVID-19? CDC explains
• Can a breakthrough infection still lead to long haul COVID-19? San Francisco doctor explains
• CA COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: See your status here
• These CA counties are way ahead in vaccinations
• Data tracker: Coronavirus cases, deaths, hospitalizations in every Bay Area county
• Get the latest updates on California EDD, stimulus checks, unemployment benefits
• Coronavirus origin: Where did COVID-19 come from?
• What is a COVID-19 genetic, antigen and antibody test?
• What does COVID-19 do to your body and why does it spread so easily?
• Coronavirus Timeline: Tracking major moments of COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco Bay Area