From: SMOKEFREE@compuserve.com
Date: Wed, 06/11/08
Smoking ban passes
By Robert Swift
Scranton Times-Tribune
06/11/2008
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19763505&BRD=2185&PAG=
461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania is days away from having a statewide smoking ban
on the books following Senate approval Tuesday of compromise legislation by
a 41-9 vote.
Gov. Ed Rendell declared his support earlier for the compromise ban when it
neared passage a week ago only to be derailed at the last minute.
He plans to sign the bill within a couple days after a standard review,
said spokesman Chuck Ardo.
The ban on smoking in most places, including businesses, will take effect
90 days after Mr. Rendell signs the bill. The bill is the product of a year
of contentious legislative debate and would permit smoking at established
private clubs where the officers vote to allow it, at taverns and bars
where food accounts for less than 20 percent of sales; and on 25 percent of
gambling floor space at the slots casinos.
The final breakthrough in the Senate was accomplished by an agreement by
both parties to introduce two new bills. The House approved the measure
last week.
These bills will allow a Second Class A city - of which Scranton is the
only one - and Allegheny County to enact stricter smoking ban ordinances
than the statewide ban.
Senate Minority Leader Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, and Majority Leader
Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester, said they will work to bring the two bills up
for a Senate vote this session.
Mr. Rendell is also on board.
"He (Mr. Rendell) would also like to assure Sen. Mellow and the Allegheny
County delegation that he will enthusiastically support legislation which
will allow these areas to enact stricter bans of their own," said Mr. Ardo.
The governors assurance to Mr. Mellow reflects the latters role in balking
at passage of the smoking ban bill last week as it emerged out of a
House-Senate conference committee. Mr. Mellow and his caucus objected to
the bill on grounds it didnt allow separate bans for Scranton and Allegheny
County.
Scranton enacted a ban in January 2007, but suspended it five months later
after a state appeals court struck down a similar ban in Allegheny County..
The bill allows Philadelphia to keep its existing smoking ban ordinance and
Mr. Mellow said this amounts to special treatment.
In floor remarks, Mr. Mellow said Mr. Pileggi approached him about finding
a way to resolve the issue. The idea for having two new bills came out of
that.
Mr. Mellow said he accepted that offer not wanting to jeopardize passage of
the entire smoking ban. Mr. Mellow said he is disappointed that local
officials in Scranton and Allegheny County didnt speak out more forcefully
in support of his efforts.
"Absent any substantive support or direction from local leaders in Scranton
or Allegheny County to keep fighting the fight for their local bans, it is
important that we enable Pennsylvania to put this historic ban in place,"
said Mr. Mellow in a statement.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com
- - -
State smoking ban coming
Senate approves bill; Rendell is set to sign it.
The Morning Call (Allentown)
June 11, 2008
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_smoking.6453946jun11,0,1310754.story
HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Senate has broken a year-long stalemate on a
statewide smoking ban, approving a compromise bill Tuesday that would make
Pennsylvania the 33rd state to outlaw smoking in many workplaces and public
spaces.
The Senate voted 41-9, sending the bill to Gov. Ed Rendell to be signed
into law in what supporters hailed as a step forward for public health and
protecting people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
''The substance that we're dealing with is dangerous to anyone who is
exposed to it, even for a short period of time,'' said Sen. Stewart
Greenleaf, the Montgomery County Republican who has tried for more than a
decade to persuade Senate colleagues to approve such legislation.
Rendell, who has advocated a smoking ban as a way to reduce health care
costs, has said he plans to sign the bill.
What the law would do It would take effect 90 days after being signed into
law, banning cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in restaurants, office
buildings, schools, sports arenas, theaters and bus and train stations.
By no means will Pennsylvania's law be the nation's toughest: A dozen
exemptions will ensure that smoking can continue at many bars and taverns,
portions of casino floors, private clubs and elsewhere. In fact,
Philadelphia's year-and-a-half-old ban goes farther in some places, banning
smoking in the two casinos that are planned on its waterfront.
The exemptions prompted the American Lung Association to withhold its
endorsement, while some other public health advocates grudgingly accepted
the bill. Greenleaf and others who had pressed for the strongest possible
bill also promised to return to it soon to strengthen it.
''We will live to fight another day,'' said Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny.
Deep divisions between the House and Senate delayed the bill, and demanded
a year to resolve disagreements over the extent to which smoking would
still be allowed in certain establishments and which local governments
could enforce tougher local bans.
The compromise bill was fashioned by a joint House-Senate conference
committee, which approved it last week, 5-1, before the House approved it,
163-38.
Tuesday's vote was the second time the Senate voted on the plan. Last
Wednesday, the Senate dealt it a setback, rejecting it, 31-19, in a raucous
session led by Democratic senators who insisted that Allegheny County and
Scranton be given the chance, like Philadelphia, to enforce a local ban
that would be stronger than the statewide ban envisioned by the bill.
However, the House and the Senate GOP refused to budge on further changes
to the bill, forcing Democrats to either kill the bill or support it as is.
All Lehigh Valley area senators voted in favor of the bill.
Some eating establishments that will be forced to go smoke-free are finding
comfort in numbers.
Rookie's Restaurant & Sports Pub in Allentown has allowed smoking. But
manager Paul Smith said a ban shouldn't harm the bottom line as long as
''people who were competitors of ours had to do the same thing.''
Stooges Bar & Grille manager Bobby Williams said the new law is ''very good
news'' that could translate into extra sales. Stooges went smoke-free in
September.
''For a short period of time there was a drop-off but then customers who
left came back because of the smoking ban,'' Williams said. ''No one has
the choice now so that can only help.''
Looper's Grille and Bar in south Bethlehem banned smoking on May 1. Owner
Natalie Miller said she provides an outside area where smokers can go if
they feel the need to light up.
She said business has ''only gotten better'' since the ban went into
effect.
It's also possible the ban could push some patrons into establishments that
will still be able to let customers smoke.
That includes the Federal Grille & Cigar Bar in Allentown, which is exempt
because at least 15 percent of its annual sales are from tobacco-related
products.
''We have the advantage of being upstairs smoke-free so people can have
whatever they want, however they want it,'' said Federal owner Iris Konia..
''Is it better for me? Yes, it could be possibly. But I am just totally
against government legislating how I'm going to do business Â? People need
to make these decisions themselves.''
Associated Press reporter Marc Levy and Morning Call reporters Brian
Callaway and Arlene Martínez contributed to this story.
- - -
Senate reverses course, passes smoking ban
By Brad Bumsted
Pittsburgh Tribune-Revue
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_572093.htm
l
HARRISBURG -- State senators from Allegheny County swallowed hard Tuesday
and voted in favor of a statewide smoking ban that doesn't allow the county
to have a separate ordinance like Philadelphia's.
Approved 41-9 by the Senate, the bill goes to Gov. Ed Rendell, who said he
will sign it into law.
It was a sharp reversal for Senate Democrats and some Republicans who last
week voted down the statewide ban because Allegheny County and Scranton
couldn't have stricter bans.
Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said Senate GOP leaders promised separate
legislation will be considered for the county and city before the session
ends.
Rendell will "enthusiastically support" efforts to get a stronger ban for
Allegheny County, spokesman Chuck Ardo said.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter called passage of the bill a "home run
all around the block." Philadelphia gets to keep its ordinance intact.
Reaction was swift, and not everyone was pleased with the compromise bill..
"I think it's wrong. If people want to smoke, let them smoke," said Diane
Boberg, a Sharpsburg resident who tends bar at Howler's Coyote Cafe on
Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield. "I smoke, so (smoke) doesn't bother me, but
if I didn't, I wouldn't mind because it isn't my business. It's up to the
person."
Smoking is prohibited or restricted by most establishments in Pennsylvania.
But that's typically by choice, not by law.
Philadelphia's smoking ordinance prohibits smoking in casinos. The
statewide legislation allows it on 25 percent of casino floor space.
Allegheny County's law, overturned in court last year, banned smoking in
casinos.
The legislation bans smoking in enclosed workplaces and commercial
establishments and areas where the public is invited or permitted. It
allows smoking in bars where food is 20 percent or less of annual sales and
allows smoking in private clubs.
Allegheny County would have banned smoking in private clubs.
"It is unbelievable," Jim Mitchell, Thornburg resident and third-generation
owner of Mitchell's Restaurant and Bar at Third and Ross streets Downtown,
said of the reversal. "These politicians can say that secondhand smoke is
unhealthy in my restaurant, but not in casinos and private clubs."
"Money and power can do a lot," Mitchell said. "But when 60 percent of my
customers smoke, I guess I'm out of luck. I thought we dodged a bullet
there when the senators from Allegheny County shot it down. But I guess
Rendell threw them some kind of bone or some backdoor deal."
Chuck Davis, owner and chef of The Classroom in Washington County, said he
welcomed the ban.
"It certainly makes my job easier -- I don't have to worry about providing
a smoking area," he said.
Tom Baron, who runs 14 restaurants under the name Big Burrito Restaurant
Group, thinks the legislation is too weak.
"The whole thing's just a joke," said Baron, whose restaurants are all
smoke-free.
Baron takes exception with the exceptions, which allow smoking in some bars
and restaurants and hotels.
"I guess we only are concerned with protecting some of our employees'
health, and not all," he said. "I think exceptions are just criminal."
Ed Fasulo, a senior vice president and general manager with Pittsburgh's
Majestic Star Casino, said the company is generally opposed to a smoking
ban on the casino floor, "but the 25 percent compromise ... is something we
can tolerate and live with."
State House Speaker Dennis O'Brien, R-Philadelphia, said the Senate's
action was a big step toward better health for Pennsylvanians.
"Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of disease and death," said O'Brien,
noting that most states have smoking bans in varying degrees.
But Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango County, voted against the bill, saying
it's not the state's role to regulate smoking.
"It's a question of personal responsibility," she said. "Where's it going
to stop?"
Brad Bumsted can be reached at bbumsted@tribweb.com or 717-787-1405.
- - -
Senate Oks smoking ban
By Steven M. Sweeney
Erie Times-News
June 11. 2008 6:00AM
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/NEWS02/806110378/
-1/ETN
Pennsylvania is a step away from snuffing out smoking in workplaces and
public spaces with a compromise ban that state senators approved Tuesday.
But local smoking ban supporters would rather go all the way.
The bill has several exemptions, including portions of casinos and many
taverns.
Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to sign the bill, which was already approved by
the state House.
Anthony Ruffa, D.O., former Erie County Board of Health chairman and a
tobacco-ban supporter, said he wanted a complete smoking ban.
"Politics is compromise. If this is the best we can do, at least we got
smoking out of the eateries and out of the public places where kids go,"
Ruffa said.
He said state Sen. Jane Earll, of Fairview Township, R-49th Dist., who
voted against the ban, should have been obligated to vote with what he
believes is the majority sentiment of Erie County and of Earll's election
district.
"I think it would be wise for her politically, and from a common-sense
perspective," he said. "All public places should be smoke-free, including
the casino and private clubs, but we have at least a foot in the door."
The state Senate approved the bill in a 41-9 vote Tuesday, breaking a
year-and-a-half deadlock on the statewide ban.
Earll and Sen. Mary Jo White, of Franklin, R-21st Dist., were among the
nine Republicans who voted against the smoking ban. Neither legislator
returned telephone calls to their Harrisburg offices Tuesday.
Rendell had previously said he would sign the bill as a way to reduce
statewide health-care costs.
The bill would allow smoking only in drinking establishments where food is
20 percent or less of annual sales, designated smoking areas in outdoor
public facilities such as sports stadiums, private clubs, tobacco shops and
cigar bars and up to 25 percent of a casino floor.
Smoking in homes and private automobiles is permitted.
Janet Vogt, a member of the Erie County Tobacco Coalition, said last week
that she was disappointed that the statewide smoking ban isn't stricter and
prevents local cities and counties from passing tougher bans. Under the
bill, only Philadelphia is permitted to have a stricter smoking ban.
Erie County passed a stricter ban in 2007, but state courts struck it down
as unenforceable.
"We knew a statewide ban would exempt a lot of places and leave a lot of
employees in smoky environments," Vogt said. "If they want to be in a
smoke-free environment, they have to quit their jobs, try to find another
one and hope for the best."
The bill passed the state House of Representatives last week by a vote of
163-38.
As written, the current bill stops local governments from passing and
enforcing their own smoking bans, except in Philadelphia. Senate Minority
Leader Robert J. Mellow, of Lackawanna County, D-22nd Dist., said he gave
his support to the current bill in exchange for the promise of getting
future local exemptions for Allegheny County and the city of Scranton to
enforce their own, more stringent laws.
The bill will become law with Rendell's signature and take effect 90 days
afterward. If he signs, Pennsylvania will become the 33rd state to have a
statewide smoking ban.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
STEVEN SWEENEY can be reached at 870-1675 or steven.sweeney@timesnews.com
- - -
Pa. Senate passes ban on smoking
By Marc Levy
Associated Press
Lancaster New Era
June 11, 2008
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/222902
The state Senate has broken a yearlong stalemate on a statewide smoking
ban, approving a compromise bill Tuesday that would make Pennsylvania the
33rd state to outlaw smoking in many workplaces and public spaces.
The Senate voted 41-9, sending the bill to Gov. Ed Rendell to be signed
into law in what supporters hailed as a step forward for public health and
protecting people from the dangers of secondhand smoke.
"The substance that we're dealing with is dangerous to anyone who is
exposed to it, even for a short period of time," said Sen. Stewart
Greenleaf, the Montgomery County Republican who has tried for more than a
decade to persuade Senate colleagues to approve such legislation.
Rendell, who has advocated a smoking ban as a way to reduce health care
costs, has said he plans to sign the bill. Secondhand smoke is linked to
numerous diseases, including cancer.
Opponents have derided the bill as big government playing havoc with small
business owners, potentially hurting neighborhood taverns and eateries
where people stay for hours, smoking.
It would take effect 90 days after being signed into law, banning
cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking in restaurants, office buildings,
schools, sports arenas, theaters and bus and train stations.
By no means will Pennsylvania's law be the nation's toughest: A dozen
exemptions will ensure that smoking can continue at numerous bars and
taverns, portions of casino floors, private clubs and elsewhere. In fact,
Philadelphia's year-and-a-half-old ban goes farther in some places, banning
smoking in the two casinos that are planned on its waterfront.
Only Philadelphia's ban, the only active local smoking ordinance in the
state, can be enforced under the bill. All other counties and
municipalities would be prohibited from enacting their own restrictions.
The exemptions prompted the American Lung Association to withhold its
endorsement, while some other public health advocates grudgingly accepted
the bill. Greenleaf and others who had pressed for the strongest possible
bill also promised to return to it in the near future to strengthen it.
"We will live to fight another day," said Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny.
Deep divisions between the House and Senate delayed the bill, and required
a year to resolve disagreements over the extent to which smoking would
still be allowed in certain establishments and which local governments
could enforce tougher local bans.
The compromise bill was fashioned by a joint House-Senate conference
committee, which approved it last week, 5-1, before the House approved it,
163-38.
Tuesday's vote was the second time the Senate voted on the plan. Last
Wednesday, the Senate dealt it a setback, rejecting it, 31-19, in a raucous
session led by Democratic senators who insisted that Allegheny County and
Scranton be given the chance, like Philadelphia, to enforce a local ban
that would be stronger than the statewide ban envisioned by the bill.
However, the House and the Senate GOP refused to budge on further changes
to the bill, forcing Democrats to either kill the bill or support it as is.
The bill was heavily lobbied and closely watched by casinos and bars
worried about losing a reliable foundation of their clientele. The
Pennsylvania Restaurant Association had supported the broadest possible ban
to protect the health of employees who work all day in smoke-filled bars
and dining rooms — but that didn't stop individual restaurants from
contacting senators to seek an exemption.
"Smoking" or "No smoking" signs would have to be posted just about
everywhere, and fines up to $1,000 would be levied against repeat
violators.
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