The state Senate’s vote Thursday to ban smoking in most indoor public places in Colorado is a huge victory. If signed into law – which the governor’s spokesman said is “likely” – the bill will mean healthier, more comfortable work and leisure environments. What could be better?
The bill would ban smoking in indoor enclosed areas, including restaurants, bars and office buildings, while exempting casinos, cigar bars, the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport, smoke shops, some small businesses, family farms and 25 percent of hotel and motel rooms.
The bill’s Senate sponsor, Dan Grossman of Denver, called it a “victory for workers” who have to labor in smoke-filled environments. “It’s a good message to send to people in Colorado that we value a healthy workplace,” he said.
Grossman has tried for two years to get the legislature to pass a statewide smoking ban. Polls have shown that most Coloradans don’t smoke and favor a ban. Several cities and towns have passed their own prohibitions, creating inequities for businesses in different cities. Supporters of a statewide ban have threatened to take the issue to voters if lawmakers didn’t act.
The bill passed Thursday had been approved in the House of Representatives weeks ago. But when the measure arrived in the Senate last month, several controversial exemptions were added that threatened to doom the bill. The most contentious exempted bars and taverns that get 25 percent or less of their revenues from food. It was a provision opposed by the powerful restaurant lobby, which argued that bars that serve food compete directly with its establishments.
A conference committee assigned to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions voted to strip the Senate amendments and return the measure to the stricter House ban.
Chuck Ford, the lobbyist for small bars and taverns, said his clients were “crushed” by the Senate vote. “It’s going to take the livelihood away from a lot of small people,” said Ford. Other bill opponents groused that the government was sticking its nose where it didn’t belong.
We favored the stricter House version, even though we preferred to see casinos included in the ban, and it was good to see a majority of senators ignore the interests that sought to kill the bill. It’s an important victory for a healthier Colorado. The bill has to return to the House for final approval, and if signed by Gov. Bill Owens, the ban takes effect July 1. It’ll be a day when Coloradans will be able to breathe easier.
