By DAVID KLEPPER
The Star’s Topeka correspondent
TOPEKA | Legislation in Kansas would replace local public smoking bans with a weaker statewide prohibition that would allow bars and restaurants to opt out by paying a fee.
Supporters call it a compromise, but the idea angers groups that have long fought for a statewide ban on indoor public smoking.
“It takes us backward,” said Kansas first lady Stacy Parkinson, a leading advocate of a statewide ban. “It’s a slap in the face to public health.”
The bill, HB 2642, would permit bars and restaurants to allow smoking in separately ventilated areas of their businesses — if they agree to pay the state $1 for each square foot of smoking section. Establishments could also allow smoking throughout their businesses, but minors would not be allowed to enter.
“Compromise is a good fit for everyone,” said Bill Nigro, a tavern owner who represents the Free State Business Rights Coalition.
The bill is popular with those lawmakers who contend that tougher bans are an onerous intrusion into business operations.
During a hearing on the bill Wednesday, Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, questioned the link between secondhand smoke and increased incidents of heart attacks.
“What hard data do we have?” she asked Jason Eberhart-Phillips, the state’s top medical official. “Or are we just guesstimating?”
He said that many studies have shown a link between secondhand smoke and health problems.
The legislation, if approved, would replace all local city and county smoking bans now in place.
The Kansas Senate last year passed a ban on smoking in all bars and restaurants. The only exceptions were tobacco shops, private clubs and state-run casinos. It never came to a vote in the House, but those in favor of a stronger ban hope it can be revived this year.
But even if the new House bill passes both chambers this year, it could face a veto by Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat who favors a stronger ban.
Stacy Parkinson said she would “absolutely” encourage a veto if the bill reached the governor.
