State Status
No Preemption
News Summary
Bars sue state over anti-smoking law
Publication Date: 2007-02-01
- Author:AP
- Publication:KPUA
Hawaii's new anti-smoking law is being challenged in court.
The Hawaii Bar Owners Association says the law is unconstitutional.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in Circuit Court, the association seeks an order to stop enforcement of the law, which prohibits smoking in most public places.
The lawsuit alleges that bar owners have seen a dramatic loss of business since the law went into effect in November. And its says that loss amounts to taking of private property rights without just compensation.
Deborah Zysman is the director of the Coalition for a Tobacco-free Hawaii. She says Hawaii is the 14th state to pass a smoking ban. And she says no ban has been successfully challenged.