Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Senate's smoking bill takes a U-turn

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 28, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More Colorado Government

More stories »

The battle over a bill to ban smoking in cigar bars took yet another twist Friday.

Senate Bill 250 has morphed back into legislation that was killed earlier this year.

It strictly limits smoking to true cigar bars and closes a loophole some taverns are using to skirt the state's smoking ban.

The sponsor, Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, backed away from outlawing smoking in cigar bars after falling short of the votes needed to win passage.

The measure stalled Friday in the Senate, even after Boyd watered it down to appease fellow Democrats who want to allow smoking in cigar bars.

The measure was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where opponents hope it will be snuffed out for good.

"In my heart of hearts, I stand by what I've said all along: Why is it OK in some settings to smoke and not OK in another setting?" Boyd said.

As it stands, SB 250 would require cigar bars to undergo a certification process and install on-site humidors.

It would also specify that only cigar bars could get a smoking-ban exemption by showing that at least 5 percent of their sales are from tobacco. Currently, some taverns are claiming the 5 percent tobacco-sales provision to skirt the ban.

The motion to send SB 250 to Appropriations was made by Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, a smoker who argued that the bill is "elitist."

"The Martini-cigar crowd will have a place to puff away, but the mom-and-pops are still hurting," she said.

Lawmakers last summer banned smoking in bars, restaurants and most workplaces except for casinos, airport smoking lounges and cigar bars.

A separate bill to ban smoking in casinos is on its way to the governor.

In other action, the Senate voted to stick to its guns on a resolution critical of the escalation of troops in Iraq.

Democrats voted to reject House amendments it felt weakened the Iraq war resolution by Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder.

Earlier this month, the House approved a compromise resolution urging Bush and Congress to adopt a "comprehensive strategy" to stop an escalation of bloodshed.