House committee clears smoking ban bill

INDIANAPOLIS — Smoking ban light.

That's how Democratic state Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary described his bill to ban smoking in public places in Indiana after a House committee on Wednesday carved out exemptions for casinos, some bars and certain hotels.

"Very, very light, and I don't like it," Brown said after his amended bill cleared the Democrat-controlled House Public Policy Committee on a 7-5 party-line vote and moved to the full House for consideration.

Brown's bill in its initial form would have banned smoking in any enclosed places where the public is allowed, including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and casinos. Brown and other proponents said the bill would lower health care costs and save lives by protecting more people from the ills of secondhand smoke.

But during a hearing last week, bar owners and those who testified on behalf of casinos said the ban would hurt their businesses and prohibit adults from using a legal product in their venues, and that in turn would cost jobs. They said business owners should have the right to decide whether smoking in their establishments is allowed, and people already can choose what venues to visit.

A lobbyist for the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns had said that smoking bans in public places should be decided at the local level. More than 30 counties and communities in Indiana have smoke-free ordinances of some kind, and several colleges and universities have smoke-free campus policies.

Rep. Trent Van Haaften, D-Mount Vernon, said he offered several changes that were approved to address concerns some people had with the original bill.

They include allowing casinos to permit smoking, but 20 percent of their gaming positions would have to be in a designated nonsmoking area. That means if a casino had 1,000 slot machines, smoking would not be allowed at 200 of them.

Smoking would be allowed in places that serve alcohol, as long as nobody under age 18 were permitted to visit or work in those locations. Hotels could allow smoking in up to 20 percent of their rooms.

The bill would allow communities to pass more restrictive smoking bans as long as the ordinances were approved by 2010.

The exemptions did not go far enough for Rep. Jackie Walorski of Elkhart. The unemployment rate in the area soared to 15.3 percent in December — up 10.6 percentage points from December 2007.

"I can't have one job endangered in my district," said Walorski, who voted against the amended bill.

Brown, who is not on the Public Policy Committee, said he was disappointed that the exemptions were added but pleased the panel at least approved a ban in some form. The bill will be eligible for more amendments on the House floor.