A Senate committee will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 181: the Senate's version of the state-wide smoking legislation (see Liz's post from last week for Assembly Bill 253.
The Senate's hearing will take place before the Committee on Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief, and Revenue. Here are the necessary details:
- Tuesday, May 5, 2009
- 10:00 AM
- Room 411 South, State Capitol
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5 comments:
My favorite smoke-free restaurant will be going out of business. A pioneer in smoke-free dining, all her patrons will have more choices if the smoking ban goes through because her prices are very reasonable as well - she has a narrow profit margin. Where is the support for this smoke-free pioneer? Smokers can go nowhere, but non-smokers can go more places, meaning she will be done in a matter of months, if not sooner.
If the majority truly wants a smoke free enviroment they will vote with their dollars and let the owners know that, they will not strip owners of their rights in patchwork style and then claim the only way for a level playing field is a statewide ban. The free market is the ultimate level playing field. There is none more level!
Smoke-free laws aren't just about appeasing customers who want smoke-free air. They're also about the health of the workers who might be working 6- to 8-hour shifts in those environments. Unfortunately, the free market has failed to protect workers from secondhand smoke, a known cause of cancer, heart disease, and other life-threatening illnesses.
I heard a deal was reached today on a state smokefree law. Bars and taverns would be exempt for one year? (If that's true, that's similar to how Montana did it.)
Congratulations. My brother lives in Wisconsin. He smokes and he's all in favour of a statewide smokefree law.
If Wisconsin lawmakers truly wanted to be fair, they would allow an exemption for any businesses not admitting or employing people under 18, and such businesses would post exterior signage stating that they are a smoking establishment and don't permit minors inside. I have traveled to cities that adopted such a compromise law(i.e. Indianapolis, Wichita), which at least allows for some balance between non-smoking and smoking establishments. In addition, a total ban WILL HURT existing businesses(even including bars that have already taken this route, including WI bars that were TLW members) that chose to be voluntarily non-smoking inside.
Just don't go crying, if you run into some businesses that look the other way on the state ban next year. If Ohio has told me anything(and my hometown of Chicago, after IL's state ban started in January 2008), civil disobedience is just as alive today to unfair laws as it was decades ago, and it will again occur if a state smoking ban were to take effect next summer.
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