Published: March 15, 2009 04:46 am      

Modification to smoking bans closer to approval

Legislation moves to Judiciary Committee, could meet opposition as it advances further

FAIRMONT — A bill that could turn the tables on Marion County’s recently passed smoking ban moved a step closer to approval earlier last week.

The bill, which would require all future countywide smoking bans and all bans not yet in effect to be approved by the state’s county commissions instead of the boards of health, passed through the House’s Political Subdivisions Committee by a “wide margin” Thursday and is moving on to the Judiciary Committee, Delegate Tim Manchin, D-Marion, said.

Manchin heads of the Political Subdivisions Committee and sponsored this bill along with House Majority Whip Mike Caputo and Delegate Linda Longstreth, who also represent Marion County.

And although the bill is moving on, Manchin said it still has a long way to go before final approval.

“It passed by a wide margin in my committee, but it was not unanimous,” Manchin said. “It could meet with other opposition as it moves on down the line.”

He explained that the opposition could come from the fact that it is a public policy issue and people have different views on how those types of matters should be addressed.

“Some people who are against smoking don’t agree with this,” Manchin said.” They worry that if the vote goes to the county commission it will become political and won’t pass.”

Both Manchin and Caputo pointed out that this bill does not reflect the position of the delegation on the actual issue of smoking in public places, just about the the way in which these types of regulations are implemented.

“During the discussion, we basically said that this was not about the end result. Everybody knows cigarettes are bad. We are not questioning that,” Caputo said. “The reason for this bill is because of the way it happened in Marion County. That was our reason for introducing it.”

Last March, the Marion County Board of Health passed an amendment to the Clean Indoor Air Regulations that bans smoking in all public places including bars, video lottery parlors and — unless a private function is being held — fraternal organizations. The change also prohibits smoking within 15 feet of the entrance to public buildings.

And since the changes were passed, there has been an uproar of response within the community, not only about the ban itself, but about the fact that it was passed without a public hearing. Caputo said that most people did not even know the regulations were up for a vote until after it happened, which he and the other delegates believe was not fair.

“It needs to be fair and open and people know need to know what’s going on. There has to be public hearings on this kind of stuff and people really need to just have their say,” he said. “And at the end of day, the final decision needs to rest with someone who’s elected, not appointed.”

Marion County’s ban went into effect in August 2008 for new businesses and will be enforced upon all existing businesses in August 2009.

But if HB 2932 passes, the previous health board vote will be rescinded and the matter will instead be put into the county commissioners’ hands. And even if it does not pass this year, Caputo said the fact that it was even introduced will help make the overall process much more publicized.

“We promised we’d introduce it, and we’ll try our best to get it passed,” he said. “But even if it doesn’t pass, I think it will help add transparency to this process.”

The bill is now set to be talked about the House Judiciary Committee and if it passes there it will go to the House floor, then to the Senate and then finally to the governor’s desk for final approval if it makes it through these steps.

“It is a long way from reality,” Caputo said. “But it cleared one hurdle and it’s being talked about, which is a good thing, and we’ll see.”

E-mail Mallory Panuska at mpanuska@timeswv.com.