Dueling smoking bills likely in '08 legislative session

April Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Two state lawmakers plan to push dueling smoking bills next year — one aimed at easing the smoking ban and the other at closing the "cigar bar" loophole.

If the bills are introduced as planned, the 2008 legislative session would be the fourth in a row where the agenda included the workplace smoking ban.

The first anniversary of the ban was Sunday.

After an unsuccessful bid in 2005 to pass a statewide ban, the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act was enacted in 2006. This year saw a half-dozen bills introduced to either chip away at the ban or tighten it by outlawing smoking in cigar bars and casinos. The cigar-bar exemption stands; casinos will be smoke-free Jan. 1.

Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, a staunch opponent of the smoking ban, said Monday she will once again introduce legislation to aid struggling neighborhood bars.

She may propose a measure that would allow bar owners who install expensive ventilation systems to be exempt from the ban.

Tochtrop also may revive a bill, snuffed by a Senate committee, that would allow bars to pay $500 for a special liquor license that allows smoking.

"Some places are doing fine and some places are hurting." she said. "If people are really hurting and hanging on by their thumbnails, then they should have an option to stay open."

Meanwhile, smoking ban backers said they will oppose legislation next year that would substantially weaken the law or ignore the health issues caused by smoking.

Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, said he or another Democrat will likely revive a measure aimed at closing a loophole in the cigar-bar exemption that some bars use to allow customers to light up.

The Senate killed a similar bill this year after a handful of Democrats joined Republicans in opposing any efforts to outlaw smoking in cigar bars.

Gordon said he would try to find a way to strictly limit smoking to cigar bars that show 5 percent or $50,000 of their sales come from cigars. The law now limits smoking to bars that sell a certain percentage of "tobacco." Some taverns have used that language to claim cigar-bar status.

"There are some people using the cigar-bar exemption to cheat, and we need to address the issue of cheating," Gordon said.