Virginia’s House of Delegates voted Monday to advance a diluted version of a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, stripping key parts of one of Gov. Tim Kaine’s top legislative initiatives.
The measure won preliminary approval on a 61-38 vote in the Republican-controlled House, which for years has killed any restrictions on lighting up in bars and restaurants. The final vote is expected today.
The endorsement, however, came with several caveats that reined in the scope of the proposed ban.
The original proposal would have allowed smoking in private clubs and separately ventilated, closed-off areas. Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, successfully amended the bill to delay its implementation until Jan. 1 and allow smoking in an establishment that has been reserved for a private function or during times in which minors aren’t allowed. It also would allow smoking in an area that’s closed off or separately ventilated, not necessarily both.
Democratic supporters worried the changes would gut the smoking ban.
“This bill is not about preventing minors from breathing in second-hand smoke,” said Del. Robert Hull, D-Falls Church. “This bill is about preventing all citizens who don’t wish to, from breathing second-hand smoke.”
The proposed ban, announced last week, would have amounted to another doomed anti-smoking proposal were it not for a compromise between Kaine, a Democrat, and House Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford.
All 100 seats in the House are up for election in November, and polls show broad support for such a ban among Virginia voters.
“I am here today to try to do something that the vast, vast majority of my constituents want me to do, in a way that does not compromise my core principles,” said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, who called the ban “a very reasonable compromise.”
But a core group of Republican lawmakers, as well as the statewide Republican party leadership, remain opposed to the ban. A letter Monday to legislators signed by 10 of the 11 Republican district chairmen, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Frederick and other GOP leaders blasted the bill as “an unconscionable encroachment.”
“The passage of such legislation is completely antithetical to our party’s core free-market principles,” the officials wrote. “This [is] not about smoking. This is about unnecessary government intrusion into the private sector.”
