Gov. Tim Kaine said Monday that he is again advocating a statewide smoking ban in restaurants, a measure that has faced stiff opposition in Virginia, the country’s fourth-biggest exporter of tobacco.
Kaine is proposing legislation that would bar smokers from lighting up in “any food establishment, including dining establishments of public and private clubs, where food is available for sale and consumption by the public,” but excluding outdoor dining areas, according to the governor’s announcement.
Asimilar Kaine-backed measure passed in the state Senate last year before being squashed in a House subcommittee.
Critics of last year’s legislation said the language was too broad and could, for example, prohibit people from smoking at outdoor hot dog stands.
The new legislation includes a more detailed definition of a restaurant that was developed by the Virginia Department of Health in conjunction with citizens and stakeholders, Kaine said.
“At least 28 other states have done it, who knows how many independent localities have done it, and as far as we know, nobody has repealed it, so apparently it’s not been seen as a mistake that has needed to be taken back,” Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey said. “It’s about keeping people healthy.”
The measure is likely to face opposition from some Republicans, who have argued that private business owners should maintain autonomy over their establishments, and from those who say the ban goes too far.
“I’m not entirely opposed to the idea,” said Del. Jackson Miller, R-Prince William County. “I just want to make sure we don’t ban a father passing out cigars at his daughter’s wedding in a huge banquet hall. I just want to make sure it’s not out of control.”
The nation’s three biggest exporters of tobacco are North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
