How a Smoking Ban Goes Down in Flames
There is a certain amount of irony to a smoking ban going up in flames, but to anyone who paid attention to this entire legislative process they should not be surprised at all.
Smoking ban proponents have been trying for years to get a comprehensive ban passed at the Statehouse. They would have come close last year had the political ignorance of some their advocates and lobbyists not been on display for the entire political establishment to look at in awe.
However, this year they figured with the Governor making it one of his top legislative priorities as well as Senate Pro Tempore David Long promising a full hearing, all I can think of was the old saying, “be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. ”
Anyone who understands the current make-up of the Senate knows if there are two types of bills that can get everyone up in arms are gun bills and property rights bills. This was not about guns but about property rights, plain and simple. And the smoke-free advocates failed to realize that when it came to the government deciding whether a workplace should be smoke free or the owner of the business who has invested his blood, sweat, tears and financial well-being into the business, that most Senators are going to side with the business owner. The first sign of that should have been in the Senate Rules and Public Policy Committee when the bar owners who would negatively be impacted by the smoking ban got to testify first.
Secondly, the fact that no amendments were offered during the committee hearing should have been another warning. By allowing it to go to the floor relatively clean, the opportunity was created for the bill to get weighed down with amendment after amendment after amendment. And it did. Look at the list of amendments that passed as posted on the Indiana Senate Democrat blog.
- Amendment 13: Allows group homes, community mental health centers and Indiana Veterans Homes to establish designated smoking rooms.
- Amendment 18: Removes sunset provision on bar and tavern exemption. Smoking at bars and taverns will continue to be permitted.
- Amendment 20: Permits charity gaming organizations to allow smoking during events.
- Amendment 21: Made technical changes to the bill.
- Amendment 22: Allows cigar and hookah bars to move to new locations and remain exempt from the ban.
- Amendment 23: Confirms that statewide smoking ban will not supersede local smoking ordinances as long as they are stricter than the state ban.
- Amendment 24: Reduces from 12 feet to 8 feet the distance from the entrance to a public place that must be smoke free.
- Amendment 26: Removes exemption that a club or fraternal club seeking an exemption from the smoking ban must be established before June 30, 2012.
- Amendment 28: Prevents local municipalities from establishing smoking ordinances that prohibit smoking in gaming facilities.
- Amendment 29: Exempts home businesses from the smoking ban.
Once again, who didn’t see this coming?
Smoke free advocates were livid. Danielle Patterson, co-chair, Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air said…
“Hoosiers deserve better than what the Indiana Senate did today as it carved away protection from secondhand smoke for thousands of workers, passing a multitude of amendments to House Bill 1149. Healthy workers are the backbone of a healthy economy, and more than 70 percent of them support a smokefree law that includes all workplaces, bars and restaurants. Today, the Senate struggled to protect any of them. If this bill becomes law as it is written, it would be one of the weakest in the nation. If the Senate passes HB 1149 on third reading, we will continue to work within the legislative process until every Hoosier is protected.”
I hope you plan to work for a long time, Danielle. Assuming this does pass the full Senate, which is a big if. (I don’t see any Democrats voting yes and who are the 13 Republicans that will vote for this) There is no way this bill, in its current form, will make it out of the General Assembly. Leaving out all the exemptions except bars and taverns, how do you compromise? The House voted to give bars and taverns an 18-month exemption. The Senate a permanent one. Good luck King Solomon splitting that baby. Listen to the interviews below with State Representative Charlie Brown and State Senator Ron Alting. The entire runtime is 7 minutes.
Leon Tailored Interview: Smoking Ban (Charlie Brown & Ron Alting)
If anything this issue will likely die under its own weight. Which actually suits me just fine. I really don’t need my cigar bars to get crowded with cigarette smokers. Those things are disgusting.
