Legislators alter plan for smoking ban

Updated: May 10, 2007 - 11:04 PM

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A later effective date and allowances for smoking patios outside restaurants, bars and bingo halls were added late Thursday to a proposed statewide smoking ban that is headed for floor votes today.

Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, said House-Senate negotiators made the last-minute adjustments to soften the bill slightly to assure its passage. "It does not cover the outdoors," he said. "This way we pick up a few more votes."

Negotiators unanimously approved delaying the ban until Oct. 1, instead of Aug. 1, as earlier agreed to. They added exemptions, including for buildings on family farms and actors onstage as long as the audience is notified. They also added an explicit provision allowing local governments to enforce "more stringent measures to protect individuals from secondhand smoke."

CONRAD DEFIEBRE