Md. Smoking Ban Clears House, Senate Committees

Publication Date: 2007-03-23

• Author:Shawn Soper
• Publication:Maryland Coast Dispatch

A statewide smoking ban in Maryland appears to be as close to done deal as it ever has this week after committees in the House and Senate approved the Clean Air Act of 2007, which, if approved by the entire General Assembly, would make bars, restaurants and other public places across the state completely smoke free.

The effort to make all Maryland bars and restaurants smoke free has gained momentum in recent years, but has failed each year because the legislation could not get out of the respective House and/or Senate committees. Those barriers were knocked down this week when the Senate Finance committee voted on Tuesday to approve the measure and the House Economic Matters committee followed suit the very next day.

The Senate Finance committee approved the Clean Air Act by a narrow 6-5 margin with committee chairman Senator Thomas Middleton casting the deciding vote. Middleton’s vote was interesting because he represents Charles County in southern Maryland where tobacco auction barns still line the rural routes. Middleton has been a stumbling block for the legislation in the past.

The House Economic Matters committee approved the Clean Air Act the next day with a 15-8 vote, sending the bill to the floor for the entire House to vote on. Delegate Jim Mathias (D-38B), who represents Ocean City and Worcester County, serves on the Economic Matters Committee and voted in favor of the bill after wrestling with the public health versus private business issue for several weeks.

“This was a very tough issue,� Mathias said yesterday. “Strong cases were made by both sides and it could have gone either way, but at the end of the day, the public health benefit was just too big to ignore. Public opinion in our district went about 100-1 in favor of this legislation.�