Governor Newsom Signs Bill Expanding Liquor Licenses in San Luis Obispo County

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1008 into law on October 10, 2025.

The law allows the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to issue up to 10 new on-sale liquor licenses over two years.

The move aims to help local restaurants, tasting rooms, and wineries while supporting tourism across the Central Coast.

In May 2025, Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) proposed AB 1008, saying it would be “a vital source of revenue: for San Luis Obispo County.

At that time, Addis said, “This legislation supports our visitor-serving businesses, restaurants, and tasting rooms to expand their offerings.”

Addis was elected to the California State Assembly in 2022 to represent the coastal 30th Assembly District, which includes San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties. She is the Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 on Health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg noted that nearly 7.5 million people visit San Luis Obispo County each year. She said the new law, which provides Type 47 liquor licenses, will expand opportunities for the hospitality industry and support small businesses.

Previously, the ABC Act limited the number of on-sale general licenses the department could issue based on a county’s population.

What Does AB 1008 Offer?

AB 1008 offers an exception to this limitation by authorizing the issuance of up to 10 additional new original on-sale general licenses for bona fide public eating places in the County of San Luis Obispo.

The bill prohibits the department from issuing more than five of these licenses per year. The department may issue up to five licenses per year, and the new permits cannot be sold or transferred outside the county or at a higher price than the original fee.

In an official statement on September 3, 2025, Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) announced that eight of her bills have advanced to the Senate floor following Senate Appropriations Committee hearings.

AB 1008: Alcoholic Beverages: Licenses: County of San Luis Obispo was one of the bills.

According to a KSBY report, the license will enable restaurants to serve cocktails, which only a few establishments in the unincorporated area currently have. The transferable licenses that currently exist can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for business owners, but AB 1008 makes it so that if the licenses ever change owners, they’d be the same price, the report added.