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Smoking ban to be debated in Legislature
BY MARTHA STODDARD
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Nebraskans should learn quickly whether public buildings and workplaces across the state will be required to go smoke-free.
Lighting up at lunch in places like the Hiway Cafe in Lyons, Neb., would eventually be just a memory if the Legislature approves a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings this session.The Legislature is expected to resume debate on a proposed statewide smoking ban early in the lawmaking session that begins next Wednesday. Lawmakers could cast a deciding vote on Legislative Bill 395 before the end of January.
If the bill passes, Nebraska would join a growing list of states and countries with laws aimed at restricting exposure to secondhand smoke.
As of Tuesday, 28 states had passed laws prohibiting smoking in workplaces, restaurants, bars or some combination of the three. Six states passed their laws last year.
Both Nebraska and Iowa limit smoking in public places to designated areas. Nebraska prohibits smoking only in child care centers and state buildings and vehicles.
The World-Herald's annual pre-session survey of Nebraska lawmakers suggests that a vote on a statewide ban will be close.
Twenty-one state senators responding said they favor a ban on smoking in workplaces and public buildings across Nebraska.
Seven senators said they would support a ban only if local communities could opt for less restrictive measures. Five opposed a statewide ban.
The deciding votes will be cast by 16 senators who said they were undecided, who didn't answer or who didn't participate in the survey. It takes 25 votes to pass a bill in the Nebraska Legislature.
State Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney, chief sponsor of LB 395, said he wasn't surprised at the survey results. He said the survey reflected his own vote tally and the informal vote counts taken during last year's debate about the ban.
But Johnson said he is committed to pursuing a statewide ban with only minimal exceptions, even if he might get a few more votes by agreeing to allow local communities to opt for less restrictive smoking measures.
"Our plan is to have a good bill or no bill," Johnson said. "We want to just take an up-or-down vote, and if we fail there are plenty of people ready to go out and collect signatures" to put the question before voters in a statewide referendum.
Mike Salkin, vice president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution, said an initiative petition drive is a "distinct possibility" if the Legislature fails to pass a smoking ban this year.
But he was cautiously optimistic about the chances of a statewide ban getting through the Legislature.
Where legislators stand on smoking ban
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Here are state legislators' responses to this survey question:
Should Nebraska law ban smoking in public buildings and workplaces?
Yes (21): Adams, Aguilar, Ashford, Avery, Cornett, Fulton, Gay, Hansen, Harms, Janssen, Johnson, Kopplin, Kruse, Louden, McGill, Nelson, Pankonin, Pedersen, Raikes, Stuthman, Wightman
Yes, if towns and cities can opt for less stringent bans (7): Carlson, Christensen, Flood, Howard, Pahls, Rogert, Wallman
No (5): Engel, Erdman, Fischer, Karpisek, Langemeier
Undecided (4): Burling, Friend, Lautenbaugh, Nantkes
No answer (5): Dierks, Heidemann, Hudkins, Pirsch, Synowiecki
Did not participate (7): Chambers, Dubas, Lathrop, McDonald, Preister, Schimek, White"The indications are, we believe, that a law will pass this year, a good law," he said. "I think if they don't pass it, there's going to be a lot of very unhappy people in Nebraska."
The legislative landscape changed some this past fall, when Sen. Mick Mines of Blair resigned his seat. Mines had led opposition to a proposed statewide ban and negotiated an amendment to allow towns and cities to opt out of a statewide prohibition.
LB 395, as amended during second-round debate last year, currently includes the opt-out provision. Speaker Mike Flood of Norfolk said he likes the current version of the bill because it preserves local control.
But the opt-out provision doesn't satisfy some senators, such as Phil Erdman of Bayard, who said he opposes a smoking ban.
"Workplaces and private businesses should have the responsibility to make the decision for themselves, their employees and their customers," Erdman said.
Other senators said they oppose allowing a local opt-out provision because it would leave Nebraska with the same kind of patchwork of local smoking regulations currently in effect.
Lincoln has a smoking ban that applies to bars, restaurants and workplaces, with exemptions for home-based businesses, some hotel rooms and laboratories used to study smoking.
Omaha's ban applies to restaurants and workplaces. Bars that don't serve food, keno outlets and Horsemen's Park are exempt until May 2011. Ralston's new ban is similar to the Omaha ordinance but also exempts private clubs.
Other cities have expressed interest in enacting smoking bans but have hesitated out of concern that the change might drive local smokers out of town.
"The amount of discrepancy has reached such a level that it is appropriate for the state to make a uniform decision," said Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln.
Johnson said he will drop LB 395 if he cannot get the opt-out amendment removed, thus killing the bill.
In Iowa, anti-smoking groups are pushing legislation to allow communities to pass local smoking ordinances that are more restrictive than state law. The legislation responds to an Iowa Supreme Court ruling that said current state law pre-empts local smoking ordinances.
Local control proposals died during last year's legislative session, but Iowa advocates are hopeful about the chances of passage this year.
Cathy Callaway, president of the Iowa Tobacco Prevention Alliance, said she would love to have a statewide smoking ban in Iowa but is not sure it has enough support. A proposed statewide ban died in the Iowa Senate last year.
In most states, support for statewide action has grown out of success with local bans, Callaway said.
She said 18 towns and counties have passed resolutions asking the Legislature for the authority to enact smoking bans. Among those communities are Des Moines, Ames and Iowa City.
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