BosGuy

BostInno reported Friday that Mayor Walsh included in his City of Boston State Legislative Agenda for 2015-2016 the bill, SD40, An Act Modernizing the Business Licensing Process.  The bill outlines a number of measures to spur further economic development but perhaps the most important part is the provision that would allow restaurants and bars to remain open past 2 a.m.

The legislation could have a big impact on the city of Boston and not just with extending bar closing hours.    There remain a lot of idiotic city licenses that cost new businesses time and money and do little to help the public good.  Some of those include eliminating the need for pool halls and bowling alleys to get special licenses.  I am happy to read that Mayor Walsh remains committed to this idea of extending business hours and streamlining the licensing process.

Earlier this year the city of Boston announced limited regulations for car sharing services like Uber and Lyft that operate in and around the city.  According to an article in the Boston Herald the city is now setting its sights on Airbnb, scheduling a public hearing on January 26th to help determine what, if any, regulations are needed for the booming short-term rental service.

With news of the US Olympic Committee’s selection of Boston as the US host city for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, short-term rental services / room sharing services like Airbnb will play a crucial role.  However, the loss of revenue hotel chains bemoan may play a bigger role since everyone knows money talks and national hotel chains have been highly critical of companies like Airbnb.

Hopefully the discourse on January 26th won’t lead to discord.  It would be good to have some basic regulations in the form of consumer protections like the city announced for car sharing services but the focus would be on the words “basic regulations”.  You can read the full article in the Herald here.