Smoking ban’s future not promising

Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, sponsored the bill for the statewide smoking ban.

By Marty Swant
May 6, 2008

A bill that would ban smoking statewide will not make it into law this session, the bill’s sponsor said.

Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, wrote a bill that would ban smoking in almost all public places.

Such locations would include bars, restaurants and public transportation vehicles. The bill includes a list of places that are not considered “public.”

Limousines for hire and taxicabs that are carrying all consenting passengers, performers on stage if the smoking is part of the production and bars and restaurants that house fewer than 50 people are all listed as nonpublic locations.

Creating a statewide smoking ban is something Bray has been working on for several years.

Many of her constituents have told her they want it passed in the General Assembly, she said.

“It’s something we would like to do ultimately,” Bray said.

People become more health conscious, she said, and not only about the harm from smoking but also the effects of secondhand smoke and its effects on the environment.

Right across the border from where Bray’s constituents live is Illinois, which was the 22nd state to ban smoking in the nation. The Illinois bill is similar to Bray’s — in fact, she said her bill is modeled after it.

One key difference is that Illinois’ smoking ban includes prohibition of smoking in casinos as well, while Missouri’s does not.

There is also a difference in the penalty residents would be pay for violating the law compared to the standard of the Illinois law.

In Illinois, there is a fine that increases in increments with each violation, which is different for individuals and businesses.

In Missouri, the fine would be $200 for anyone in violation of the potential law, Bray said.

Bray’s bill expands the state’s littering law to include cigarettes, cigarette packages or other smoking-related items, the bill states. In Missouri, littering is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a fine of $100, according to state statute.

Although many Missourians are in favor of a state smoking ban, many others are opposed to the idea.

“These are decisions that should be left to business owners,” Boone Liberty Coalition member Glenn Nielsen said.

The BLC opposed the Columbia smoking ban enacted in October 2006. Nielsen said there are better ways to curb smoking in the state without affecting business revenue. Each owner could make an independent decision on whether to allow smoking, he said.

Nielsen said banning smoking on the state level goes against the idea of a free market. When a free market is allowed, he said, business owners may choose to ban smoke in their establishment.

If the business prospers, he said, others will follow suit.

This approach creates an optimal mix of bars and restaurants that meet the demand of all customers, he said.

But Missouri residents don’t need to worry about this bill becoming a law this session.

Bray decided to have the bill heard in committee. With only three weeks remaining this session, she knew it wouldn’t be taken seriously and that it would instead go to the Senate floor, she said.

The April 15 committee hearing on the bill was canceled upon Bray’s request, but had she wanted one, she would have had a “full and open hearing” on this bill just as any other legislation has, Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said.

Crowell is the chairman of the Pensions, Veterans’ Affairs and General Laws Committee, where Bray’s will was scheduled for hearing.

“We got to it as fast as we could,” he said.

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Smoking ban’s future not promising

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