Scaled-down smoking ban approved by Virginia House

RICHMOND

A statewide ban on smoking in most restaurants and bars was watered down and approved by the House of Delegates on Monday.

A series of amendments supported by Republicans and rural Democrats left the measure well short of its original aim to outlaw smoking in all eateries except those that build enclosed areas with separate ventilation systems for puffers.

Saying the measure would force many small restaurant and bar owners out of business, the House erased the separate ventilation requirement and voted to permit smoking in any room separated from the rest of the establishment by a door.

The House also approved amendments that:

- Allow smoking in any establishment during hours they do not admit minors.

- Allow smoking when an entire restaurant has been rented for a private reception - if the owner is willing.

- Defer the start date for the proposed ban three months, to January 1, 2010.

The American Lung Association, which last week gave a nod to the smoking ban, vowed to oppose the House amendments.

"They gutted the bill," said David DeBiasi, a lobbyist for the association. "This bill is a joke now."

Lawmakers who supported the original legislation, while disappointed with the House action, predicted SB1105 still would decrease the number of restaurants that allows smoking.

"It's still a good bill," said Del. John Cosgrove, R -Chesapeake.

The House passed the amended measure on a 59-39 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate, which favors tough anti-smoking bans.

Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, who authored the Senate bill, said the House version is unacceptable.

"People would like a bill that would let them go into a restaurant as a patron or an employee and not be subjected to second-hand smoke," Northam said. "The House bill does away with all of that."

The House has long been hostile to smoking bans. Republicans have argued that government should allow restaurant owners to decide whether it is in their business interest to allow patrons to light up.

Many rural lawmakers represent tobacco-growing areas. Richmond is home to the headquarters of Philip Morris USA - the nation's largest cigarette maker - and its corporate parent, Altria.

Outright smoking bans have been approved by the Senate in each of the past two years and killed without a recorded vote by a six-member House subcommittee.

This year's bill was the product of a major compromise between Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat who favored an outright ban, and Speaker William Howell, a Republican who had opposed government intervention.

Several Republican delegates said it was impressive that any smoking ban, no matter its imperfections, passed the House.

"This is a compromise issue, and we got a lot of support for it," Cosgrove said.

Kaine issued a guarded statement on the House action.

"The governor is glad the bill is moving forward, though the amendments run counter to the agreement that was made by the leadership," said Gordon Hickey, Kaine's press secretary. "We will continue to work on the issue."

The major amendments diluting the bill were offered by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott. He cited reports indicating 68 percent of Virginia restaurants are smoke free and polls indicating 75 percent of Virginians favor bans.

"The market is working without government getting involved," Kilgore said.

Kilgore said costs of either banning smoking and possibly losing customers or building separate rooms and ventilation systems would be prohibitive to restaurant owners.

"We're in a recession, and people are having a hard time hanging on," Kilgore said. "I'm afraid a lot of the small ma-and-pa restaurants will go out of business."

Opponents of the change s said Kilgore's amendments would not protect non-smoking Virginians or restaurant employees from exposure to second-hand smoke.

"In this economy, where people are losing jobs left and right, one of the few options left to people is restaurant work," said Del. Robert Hull, D-Fairfax. "It's not fair in this economy to make people chose between a job to support themselves and their families, and their health."

Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com