ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Advocates and lawmakers continue a years-long push for New York to be the second state in the country to lower the legal blood alcohol content from .08 to .05. But some, like local bar and restaurant owners, remain skeptical of the potential change.

The only state that’s lowered its legal BAC to .05 is Utah. In New York, it’s been introduced multiple times during legislative sessions, including last year, but did not make it past committee to the floor calendar.

A major advocate of the bill is William Aiken, President of Remove Intoxicated Drivers. Aiken points to the results of an evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of Utah’s .05 BAC law that went into effect in December 2018.

“It was a 4-year analysis,” Aiken explained, adding that it was the first time there was a substantial opportunity to do a study of the law’s impact.

Overall, the evaluation found reductions in crashes and no negative effects to alcohol sales.

“We want people to think about this before they get behind the wheel,” Aiken said.

Just as there were in Utah, there are concerns from business owners in New York who are still trying to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“Having been through the worst three years you could imagine, this would be another gut punch to us,” said Patrick Noonan, owner of El Loco in Albany.

Noonan points to measures like alcohol-to-go, introduced in the early days of COVID-19 to keep restaurants afloat, and now legalized through 2025. He said his bartenders have called Ubers for patrons, and do their part to help people get home safely.

He understands where proponents of the change are coming from, telling NEWS10, “As a parent, as a liquor license owner, as a concerned citizen, I completely understand the conversation. This isn’t me saying, ‘this person is out of their mind’ or ‘this would never fly.’”

But he still has concerns that it won’t have the same impacts on New York as it did on Utah.

Next week, sponsors of the bill will meet at the State Capitol for a press conference.