Nixon's Head
04-10-2007, 10:03 AM
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House approved legislation Monday that would establish a statewide ban on smoking in most enclosed public places, a move that surprised many lawmakers.
The measure passed on an unrecorded vote but at least 60 lawmakers supported it. The legislation was attached as an amendment to a major health care bill that if approved might eventually be funded by an increase in cigarette taxes.
The overall bill was eligible for passage in the House today. If approved, it will likely go to a joint House-Senate conference committee where compromises will be sought.
The amendment, by Rep. Eric Turner, R-Gas City, would prohibit smoking in most enclosed public places, sports arenas and indoor places of employment. It would not apply to retail tobacco stores, bars, public areas that are leased for private functions, or businesses that have no employees other than the owner.
It also would not apply to personal residences unless they were licensed to provide day care.
Turner said the restrictions were modest compared with those in some states, and local ordinances restricting smoking in Indiana could be stronger than the state provision if it becomes law. Some local jurisdictions, including Allen County, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and New Haven, have smoking restrictions in some public places.
“I think this is a beginning,” said Turner, who has supported some anti-smoking legislation in the past.
Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said Bloomington’s anti-smoking ordinance has not hurt the city’s economy.
“People eat, people drink, people enjoy themselves,” Pierce said. “People breathe clean air. I think we should do anything that promotes clean air in Indiana.”
House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, did not vote because he was one of two lawmakers counting those who stood up to vote for the amendment. He said he believed the provision probably went too far, especially on businesses, but said passage of the amendment was a “substantial statement” and had bipartisan support in a House controlled by Democrats 51-49.
“It’s a huge thing to do without public testimony,” Bosma said.
The bill includes major health initiatives that could ultimately be funded with a cigarette tax increase, and it still has a long way to go.
The bill is now the primary vehicle for a top priority among many lawmakers in both parties and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels — providing health care to more Hoosiers. If a proposed cigarette tax increase is revived to fund that and perhaps other health initiatives, the tax increase likely would be placed in another bill during the waning days of the session.
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said passage of the Turner amendment took him “completely by surprise,” and said he and the other 32 Republicans who control the Senate had not discussed the idea as a group.
He said he personally felt that smoking restrictions should be left up to local jurisdictions. But he noted that many states and cities were moving toward more and stricter smoking restrictions.
Daniels’ spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the governor was pleased to see the bill continue to move.
Source (http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2007/04/10/statenews.qp-133487.sto).
The measure passed on an unrecorded vote but at least 60 lawmakers supported it. The legislation was attached as an amendment to a major health care bill that if approved might eventually be funded by an increase in cigarette taxes.
The overall bill was eligible for passage in the House today. If approved, it will likely go to a joint House-Senate conference committee where compromises will be sought.
The amendment, by Rep. Eric Turner, R-Gas City, would prohibit smoking in most enclosed public places, sports arenas and indoor places of employment. It would not apply to retail tobacco stores, bars, public areas that are leased for private functions, or businesses that have no employees other than the owner.
It also would not apply to personal residences unless they were licensed to provide day care.
Turner said the restrictions were modest compared with those in some states, and local ordinances restricting smoking in Indiana could be stronger than the state provision if it becomes law. Some local jurisdictions, including Allen County, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and New Haven, have smoking restrictions in some public places.
“I think this is a beginning,” said Turner, who has supported some anti-smoking legislation in the past.
Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said Bloomington’s anti-smoking ordinance has not hurt the city’s economy.
“People eat, people drink, people enjoy themselves,” Pierce said. “People breathe clean air. I think we should do anything that promotes clean air in Indiana.”
House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, did not vote because he was one of two lawmakers counting those who stood up to vote for the amendment. He said he believed the provision probably went too far, especially on businesses, but said passage of the amendment was a “substantial statement” and had bipartisan support in a House controlled by Democrats 51-49.
“It’s a huge thing to do without public testimony,” Bosma said.
The bill includes major health initiatives that could ultimately be funded with a cigarette tax increase, and it still has a long way to go.
The bill is now the primary vehicle for a top priority among many lawmakers in both parties and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels — providing health care to more Hoosiers. If a proposed cigarette tax increase is revived to fund that and perhaps other health initiatives, the tax increase likely would be placed in another bill during the waning days of the session.
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said passage of the Turner amendment took him “completely by surprise,” and said he and the other 32 Republicans who control the Senate had not discussed the idea as a group.
He said he personally felt that smoking restrictions should be left up to local jurisdictions. But he noted that many states and cities were moving toward more and stricter smoking restrictions.
Daniels’ spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the governor was pleased to see the bill continue to move.
Source (http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2007/04/10/statenews.qp-133487.sto).