The state Senate on Monday significantly weakened a proposed statewide smoking ban, setting up a showdown between bars and restaurants that could doom the measure for a second year in a row.
Senators, rejecting the strict ban passed by the House, tacked on exemptions for bars, casinos, racetracks and private clubs.
The sponsor said the provisions given preliminary approval by the Senate could ultimately kill the bill.
In the end, he conceded, success or failure will probably hinge on whether House and Senate negotiators can reach some kind of compromise exempting bars and taverns.
“We’ve got to come up with something for the smaller establishments,” said Democratic Sen. Dan Grossman, the bill’s sponsor.
Grossman said he didn’t know what that compromise would look like, but it could center on how many people work at an establishment.
Restaurants have lobbied as hard against exemptions as bars have pushed for them.
Both Grossman and Republican Rep. Mike May, the bill’s House sponsor, said the current tavern exemption is unacceptable. Grossman said it is unworkable because it would exempt larger establishments that compete with restaurants and would include businesses such as nightclubs and strip bars.
Last session, Grossman let a similar bill die when lawmakers could not agree where to ban smoking.
There was no recorded vote on the bill Monday, but a procedural vote that moved the measure forward passed 19-15.
When the bill passed the House, it exempted the Denver International Airport smoking lounge, cigar bars, smoke shops, small businesses, family farms and casinos.
The casino exemption was stripped in a Senate committee before being reinserted Monday. The full Senate also added exemptions for bars, racetracks and private clubs.
Senate Republican Leader Andy McElhany introduced the amendment to exempt bars that generate less than 25 percent of their sales from food.
“If you’re supporting the bill from the premise of good health, I think you can do that without putting a lot of small mom-and- pop neighborhood bars out of business,” he said.
Three Democrats – Sens. Bob Hagedorn, Lois Tochtrop and Stephanie Takis – joined most of the Republicans in passing that amendment 18-16. Takis and Tochtrop said they would vote against the bill if the bar exemption is removed.
Republican Sen. John Evans argued the state needs a uniform ban.
Local bans, he said, hurt businesses because customers can cross the town’s boundaries to find a place to smoke.
Evans voted against all exemptions. After they were added, he said, the bill looked like “Swiss cheese.”
Democratic Sen. Peter Groff supported the casino exemption but argued against the one for bars as necessary to protect workers’ health.
“What we’re talking about here is protecting those workers that serve us each and every day when one of the lobbyists takes us out to lunch,” Groff said.
But Republican Sen. Jim Dyer of Centennial said any exemptions to a bill designed to protect workers’ health is hypocritical.
“You can’t ban smoking except for your favorite political buddies,” Dyer said.
He told his colleagues that they’re “getting rolled by the casino lobby.”
Since casinos are exempt from the ban, Republican Sen. Ron Teck introduced an amendment, seemingly tongue-in- cheek, to say that casinos could hire only smokers. It failed.
The bill is expected to get a final vote today.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
