SMOKING BAN ADVANCES WITHOUT LIQUOR TAX BREAK FOR BARS
A House health spending panel approved a statewide smoking ban on
Thursday after stripping out a liquor tax break for
establishments that adopted the restrictions sooner.
The legislation would outlaw smoking in all bars, restaurants,
private clubs and other workplaces starting on Jan. 1, 2009. The
House Health Care and Human Services Finance Division passed the
bill 14-7 after what looked like a warm-up for a bigger debate
on the House floor.
Opponents tried to amend the bill to outlaw smoking entirely,
ban trans fats and force the state to condemn and purchase bars
that failed under the ban. Another failed amendment would have
delayed the ban until all American Indian reservations adopted
the same rules.
