Smoking ban clears panel

02/09/2005

Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune
February 9, 2005

A bill to ban smoking in virtually all indoor public places in Minnesota cleared its first Senate committee on Tuesday without the exemption for bars included in a similar bill in the House.

By a voice vote, the Senate Health and Family Security Committee approved a bill that would ban smoking from bars and restaurants statewide.

The vote followed two hours of testimony in which representatives from the hospitality industry and bar and restaurant owners protested that such a ban would hurt business.

“When you start regulating people’s lives on things that are legal, you start down a treacherous path,” said Kenn Rockler, a restaurant and bar owner and representative of the Minnesota Wine & Spirits Association.

One group, the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, suggested that legislators consider legalizing video poker in bars to make up for the lost profits expected from enactment of a smoking ban.

The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, is significantly stronger than a similar measure passed in a House committee. While both bills appear to have bipartisan support and the support of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the service industry has been seeking provisions in the bills that would allow local governments to enact less stringent bans.

“Local pre-emption is a must,” said Tom Day, vice president of Government Affairs for Hospitality Minnesota, representing 3,500 members of the state’s hotel, restaurant and resort industry.

Neither the House nor Senate bills would let local governments enact ordinances less restrictive than state law.

But both measures would let local governments set stricter standards.

The smoking ban issue is one of the most contentious to emerge in the legislative session, with debate coming down to classic arguments over such things as the role of government in private lives, free market solutions to public health issues, and the rights of employees to work in a safe environment.

One restaurant owner who chose to go smoke-free before her town passed a ban said the obvious dangers involved in secondhand smoke were similar to those that her establishment might be cited for by health inspectors.

“If I took the ingredients in the smoke and served them, I would be shut down immediately,” said Romelle Jones, owner of Art’s Cafe in Moose Lake.

Another bar and restaurant owner, though, said she sees the ban as an assault on private property rights.

“Much as I wish they were, no one is forced to work or patronize my bar,” said Sue Jeffers, the owner of Stub & Herbs in the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis.

The Senate bill now goes to the Commerce Committee.