State smoke ban set for fight; lawmakers to unveil bill seeking limits as tough

Publication Date: 2007-04-18

• Author:Ben Jones
• Publication:The Northwestern

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers will unveil today its plan to require workplaces across Wisconsin to adopt a smoking ban as stringent as the ones in Appleton and Madison...

The Tavern League is trying to exempt restaurants, however, without the support of a key former ally, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association. The group decided this year to support a statewide smoking ban.

Pete Hanson, director of government relations for the Restaurant Association, said a ban that exempted taverns could take business away from restaurants.

"We feel if there is a level playing field then every business gets to keep the customers they've got," he said.