Smokefree Indoor Air Update

The 2007 Legislative Session continues to make strides toward Smokefree Indoor Air.  Last week and the month before, I diaried some of the efforts to pass Workplace and Indoor Public Place Smoking Bans in the nation's state legislatures.

New Hampshire

On Feb. 22nd, the New Hampshire Senate passed Comprehensive Smokefree Workplace Legislation by a 17-7 margin.  Last year the then Republican-controlled Senate had rejected identical legislation after it passed the House by 43 votes.  We are still waiting on the House to pass this legislation, although I'll cut them some slack because they deserve kudos for passing today's Civil Unions bill.  The bill is expected to pass the House (eventually), and Gov. Lynch has said that he will sign the bill.

For sheer comedic value, you can read this article in the Concord Monitor about Republicans complaining about Democrats passing popular legislation that the people of New Hampshire elected them to pass.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/...

http://www.nhlung.org/...

Maryland

On March 24th, the Maryland House passed a workplace smoking ban by a 98-40 margin.  On March 26th, the Maryland Senate passed a similar ban by a 33-13 margin.  The bills differed somewhat, however, so it's being hammered out in Conference this week.  The crux of the difference is

However, differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill remain, and before it can be enacted and sent to the governor, both houses must pass the same version.

And, these differences have proven to be a sticking point that could stand in the way of an otherwise quick passage. The House is against exemptions to the ban for some cigar stores and private clubs that would be allowed under the Senate version.

The Senate's version would give local health officials the authority to determine which businesses may qualify for waivers of the ban based upon loss of business. The House version, by contrast, would give this authority to the state health secretary in conjunction with the comptroller. Sponsors said the persistent differences between the two chambers will have to be ironed out in a conference committee.

http://somd.com/...

What would be best of all would be if these waivers didn't exist at all.  If you live in Maryland, please contact your legislators and tell them you want a law with no waivers, no exemptions.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/...

http://www.smokefreemd.org/...

http://www.smokefreemd.org/...

Virginia

Virginia currently has a very weak indoor air law which merely requires restaurants with more than 50-seats to provide a non-smoking section.  Virginia's Republican legislature passed a bill which would have weakened this law by eliminating the non-smoking section requirement and instead requiring that restaurants simply post a sign stating that they are a smoking restaurant.  On March 26th, Virginia's Democratic Governor Tim Kaine amended the bill to instead ban smoking in all of Virginia's restaurants and the bill went back to the Legislature.  A News7/SurveyUSA poll this week revealed that 65% of Virginians support the restaurant smoking ban.  Furthermore, Republican US Senator John Warner also came out in favor of Kaine's restaurant smoking ban describing it as a "wise idea".  However, despite the support of the people of Virginia, the Governor, and Virginia's Senior Senator, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates defeated the amended bill today 40-59.  I don't have a roll call yet, but with 40 Democrats in the House of Delegates, there's a fair chance that it was a party-line vote.

It is great that Gov. Kaine has put a restaurant smoking ban on the agenda while at the same time preventing the weakening of Virginia's indoor air laws.  With the level of public support that the ban has, it would behoove Democratic candidates to make it an issue in this November's elections.

Raising Kaine and Not Larry Sabato have been covering the bill.

Michael Paul Williams has a great column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about some of the overblown rhetoric from opponents of smokefree workplace legislation.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/...

Update

Raising Kaine has the roll-call.  Among Democrats, it was 27-13,; among Republicans it was 13-45.

Minnesota

The Minnesota Senate approved a smokefree workplaces bill on March 27th.  A bill is now working its way through several committees in the House.  It cleared one committe already, with most of the exemptions left out.  Unfortunately the bill still contains a provision for there to be permits issued to bars to allow smoking.  The strangeness of an employers applying for the privilege of poisoning his/her employees is a little strange to me.  Hopefully, the provision will be removed in the other committees or by the full House.  Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said that he will sign the bill.

Illinois

Last Thursday, the State Senate passed SB500, the Smoke Free Illinois Act, by a 34-23 margin.  The bill now goes to the House and then to Gov. Blagojevich.  According to a 2005 poll, 66% of Illinoisans support smokefree workplace laws.

In related news, one of the chief opponents of workplace smoking bans, Steve Riedl, executive director of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, was arrested over the weekend for cocaine possession.  

Tennessee

Gov. Phil Bredesen has make passing a workplace smoking ban one of his goals for the session.  Today, First Lady Andrea Conte, a former Registered Nurse, is pushing hard for such a bill.  Democrats hold a small lead in the House and Republicans have a very narrow lead in the Senate so anything is possible here.  I have to give a lot of credit to Gov. Bredesen and First Lady Andrea Conte for getting the ball rolling in Tennessee.

Nebraska

Nebraska is currently considering a smokefree workplace law, LB395.  Opponents are taking a novel tack, proposing approving a statewide workplace smoking ban with local opt-outs.  In essence, this is equivalent to repealing preemption while making having a ban be the default.

http://www.smokefreenebraska.org/

Wisconsin

The Joint Committee on Finance is holding hearings throughout the state the discuss the matter.  Legislation will be considered after the hearings are complete.  Until then, things are in a holding pattern.

http://www.smokefreewi.org/

http://wisconsin.grassroots.com/...

Pennsylvania

Smokefree workplace legislation made it out of Committee in the Pennsylvania Senate, but the Republican leadership is probably going to fight tooth-and-nail to kill it.  However, Democratic Governor Ed Rendell has made clear that passing comprehensive workplace smoking legislation is a priority of his administration.  With Maryland and New Hampshire likely to pass legislation this session, that would leave Pennsylvania as the sole Northeastern State that allows smoking in workplaces and indoor public places.

Oregon

No action has been taken yet on banning smoking in bars/taverns in Oregon.  This legislation is still allegedly going to be taken up before the end of the session, however.