Stalemate remains over Mich. workplace smoking ban

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Sep 23, 2008 at 4:23 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 23, 2008 at 5:48 PM EST

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers still can't decide whether a proposed workplace smoking ban should have exemptions for certain businesses.

A proposal calling for a comprehensive ban with no exemptions failed Tuesday in the Michigan House. It fell six votes short of the 56 votes needed for approval in the 110-member chamber.

That means a stalemate remains in place, and restaurants and bars can continue setting their own rules.

Advocates of a smoking ban have been trying to get a measure passed into law for about a decade, saying it would make Michigan a healthier state. They vowed to continue their efforts and noted the House could reconsider its most recent vote before the end of the year.

"It was disappointing," Emily Gerkin Palsrok, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Campaign for Smokefree Air, said of Tuesday's vote. "But we will continue to fight."

The Democrat-led House previously passed legislation that would ban smoking at restaurants and bars but carves out exemptions for Detroit casinos, smoke shops and other businesses. The Republican-led Senate has passed legislation to ban smoking at all workplaces with no exemptions. Current state law won't change unless both chambers agree on the same version of legislation.

Tuesday's House vote on a comprehensive ban got 50 votes. Forty-nine lawmakers voted against the proposal and another 11, including some who were present in the House chamber, did not vote.

Some lawmakers said they opposed the bill because it would ban smoking at Detroit casinos, which compete with tribal-run casinos that would not be subject to state law. They said that could hurt Detroit casino revenues, some of which go to support public schools.

Other lawmakers want exemptions for smoke shops or other businesses that revolve around tobacco use. Some lawmakers say they are against imposing more regulations on restaurants and bars, which already can choose to go smokefree if they want.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said she would sign either the full ban or a ban with "reasonable" exceptions.

"I'll support whatever smoking ban gets to my desk," Granholm said.

More than 30 states have adopted some type of a workplace smoking ban, although some exempt bars, restaurants and casinos.

___

Associated Press writer Kathy Barks Hoffman contributed to this report.

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