Statewide smoking ban snuffed out until fall

Publication Date: 2007-07-17

• Author:Martha Raffaele
• Publication:CentreDaily.com

A bill that would have barred smokers from lighting up in Pennsylvania's restaurants, bars and casinos stalled Monday as the state Senate overwhelmingly rejected the House's version of the measure, delaying final passage until at least the fall.

Senate Republican Leader Dominic Pileggi cited concerns about enforcement costs and a provision that would allow local governments to enact stricter local smoking ordinances among his reasons for urging defeat of the measure, which was rejected by a 36-13 vote.

"This is not an attempt to derail this bill," Pileggi, R-Delaware, said on the Senate floor. "It is only an attempt to work out the differences between the Senate and the House, which are significant."