Panel passes smoking ban

Publication Date: 2007-05-08

• Author:David Steves
• Publication:The Register-Guard, OR

A once-stalled ban on smoking in bars and taverns got new life Monday, when a legislative panel passed the bill and set up a Senate vote as early as next week.

The vote came after a few tweaks - exemptions for cigar bars and the state's biggest horse-racing track and a start-up delay - were made to satisfy key lobbyists and lawmakers.

Senate Bill 571 would expand the statewide smoking ban to include bars, taverns, bowling alleys and bingo halls among the workplaces where smoking is not permitted. Eugene already bans smoking in such venues, as do Corvallis and a few other locales in Oregon...

That problem was taken care of, said sponsor Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, by delaying the start of the proposed ban until 2009.