Statewide smoking ban measure fails

Publication Date: 2005-05-01

• Author:NATE JENKINS
• Publication:Lincoln (NE) Journal Star

A new smoking ban in the state's capital city did nothing to persuade lawmakers in the capital building Wednesday that tight restrictions are the best thing for all corners of Nebraska.

After another three hours of heated and often meandering debate, state senators voted 19-26 to nix a proposed statewide ban on smoking in many workplaces, keeping Lincoln as the only place in the state with a strict no-smoking law. More Session 2005 stories

After the vote, Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island lingered on the floor where senators had just made their decision. In a year where some lawmakers may feel liberated from normal political concerns because of term limits that will push them out the door, anti-tobacco advocates such as Aguilar had hope.