The Legislative Graveyard

Publication Date: 2007-02-06

• Author:JARED MILLER
• Publication:Casper Star-Tribune

An effort in the Legislature to ban smoking in all public places in Wyoming has gone down in flames.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, hoped to spark a debate in the House, but a legislative committee killed the bill before it could reach the floor.

“When your bill is the last bill in the last committee on the last day, you can't have high hopes,” Zwonitzer said.

The bill was one of several that died Friday, the cutoff for all bills to be out of committee. Others that didn't make the cut include a minimum wage hike and legislation that would have protected women's right to breastfeed their children.

Zwonitzer's smoking ban bill followed successful efforts to ban public smoking in Laramie, Cheyenne and Evanston. Casper also adopted a smoking ban, but the ordinance was overturned by a public vote in 2000.