Smoking ban goes for round 2

Publication Date: 2007-01-15

• Author:Anna Jauhola
• Publication:Wahpeton (ND) Daily News

The bipartisan bill calling for a statewide smoking ban in public places is facing round two at the State Legislature this session.

The Freedom to Breathe Act passed full committee in the Senate last year but was never heard in the House.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, author of the Senate version of the bill, said he is optimistic it will pass during this legislative session...

Dibble’s bill bans smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. A companion bill in the House is less expansive — it was amended in committee and, among other changes, does not ban smoking in bars where 50 percent of revenue comes from liquor sales.