D.C. bars and restaurants would face fines as high as $16,000 for failing to abide by the District’s strict no-smoking laws, under rules being developed by the Department of Health.
The proposed regulations would boost existing fines by as much as 3,200 percent, according to documents obtained by The Examiner. Eight infractions would be classified as the most serious Class 1, with penalties starting at $2,000 for a first offense and climbing to $16,000 for a fourth violation. Another 10 infractions would be listed as Class 2, with fines increasing from $1,000 to $8,000.
Examples of the Class 1 infractions, all of which target businesses, include failing to prohibit smoking in an enclosed area and neglecting to advise a person of the law who is seen smoking inside. The Class 2 list includes smoking in a no-smoking area, as well as failing to adopt a smoking policy, notify employees of the policy or post no-smoking signs.
The District outlawed smoking inside virtually all public and private workplaces including bars and restaurants as of Jan. 2, 2007. Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have adopted similar smoke-free legislation.
Earlier rules set by the D.C. Health Department stated lesser fines: $100 to $1,000 for smoking in prohibited areas, $500 for failing to notify a person seen smoking and $500 for defacing a no-smoking sign.
Andrew Kline, general counsel to the Restaurant Association of Greater Washington, questioned why the District would propose such large fines when there doesn’t appear to be a rash of violations.
“We seem to be in the gotcha mentality of government in the District where instead of ensuring compliance we want to penalize people,” Kline said. “Fines should be effective deterrents, not punitive.”
In a fiscal impact statement, Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi said the new fines are unlikely to generate significant revenues as the Health Department “reports high rates of compliance of District of Columbia smoking laws and rules.”
Health Department spokeswoman Sybil Bowick declined to address the proposed regulations and was unable to say how many citations the Health Department had handed out since the no-smoking law was implemented.
