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Assembly to light up or put out smoking ban

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by Beth Mueller

Thursday, January 31, 2008

State lawmakers will take another swing at legislation that would ban smoking in all Wisconsin workplaces, one legislator announced Wednesday.

Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, will introduce a statewide smoking ban similar to the bill currently stalled in the Senate, despite opposition from Assembly leadership.

“I think the best thing for Wisconsin now is to have a smoke-free ban like Minnesota and Illinois do,” Wieckert said.

Proponents of the Senate anti-smoking legislation have attempted a variety of compromise measures, including a later phase-in date for taverns and a provision allowing smoking in a separate smoking room.

“To have exemptions like that, it would uneven the playing field,” Wieckert said.

Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, has advocated allowing taverns to comply with the ban at a later date out of concern for tavern owners.

“We would ban smoking in all workplaces and restaurants tomorrow. The reason we want to do a phase-in … is for a lot of those small-business people, that’s their retirement,” Decker said. “They don’t have a 401K; they don’t have pension.”

Sen. Roger Breske, D-Eland, a bar owner himself, said he would rather see tavern owners given time to decide what to do if they have to close — which he said is an inevitability for some — instead of “just jamming this down their throat.”

But if taverns or restaurants had different phase-in dates, Wieckert worries they might change their prices drastically to meet the percentage of proceeds from food or alcohol to fit one category or the other.

“Having different phase-in times would create a lot of havoc in the industry,” he said.

Senate Democrats have also attempted a compromise that would allow taverns to provide a separate, well-ventilated room for smoking, which Wieckert opposes as well.

“That would have the effect of gutting the bill,” Wieckert said. “It would destroy the spirit of the bill.”

Rep. John Richards, D-Milwaukee, is more open to compromise in his support of the legislation.

“I think there’s always room to talk, and at the end of the day we just want to get something done,” Richards said.

However, he said the opposition of Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, will be a major problem.

“I hope he takes a look at how people in Wisconsin are looking at this and he has a change of heart,” Richards said.

Despite the opposition, he thinks the bill has a chance.

“I think there is really strong public support for this bill … but we are very late in the game, and we only have a few days left in the session to pass it,” Richards said.

The Senate version of the legislation is also stuck after compromise talks fell through Tuesday.

“It’s back to square one,” Breske said.

The Assembly smoking ban legislation will be circulated for co-sponsors this week and formally introduced next Thursday.

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Bill Hannegan (January 31, 2008 @ 1:58am):

My family owns the Hitching Post in Door County. A delay in the imposition of the smoking ban would merely be for us a delay of the execution of our bar. Please don't do this to us!

An affordable HEPA air filtration unit like this one would clear our bar air of tobacco smoke at the rate of 2000 cubic feet per minute. Please allow us this option.

http://www.air-quality-eng.com/m68.php

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