ATLANTA – Georgia is certain to have a statewide smoking ban in some form, top lawmakers from both parties said as the House prepared for a Tuesday vote on the ban.
An indoor smoking ban has already passed the Senate, but its outcome was at first uncertain in the House. House Speaker Glenn Richardson called it “un-American” earlier in the session; other ruling Republicans cited personal freedom concerns.
But the tide has apparently turned.
On Monday, after a House committee scheduled the vote, top-ranking lawmakers from both parties said they believed a smoking ban was certain to pass in some form.
“We’ll pass a fairly strong smoking ban,” said Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, chairman of the committee that scheduled the vote. “Health is the first issue.”
Even some of the smoking ban’s strongest opponents now say they’ll support it. Rep. Gene Maddox, a Cairo Republican who called the ban an infringement of freedom in a committee, said Monday he’d vote for the ban. “It’s a health issue,” he said.
It was unclear, though, what the smoking ban would look like. Already the House has significantly weakened the ban approved by the Senate. That bill would have made it illegal to light up even in bars. A House committee voted to exempt bars and restaurants where patrons have to be at least 18 years old.
House members also decided that smoking should still be allowed in lounges at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport because fliers may not be able to step outside on layovers.
More changes are possible. Several House members plan to suggest amendments during Tuesday’s floor debate. Legislators said they expected a lively debate, but that some statewide smoking ban would ultimately be approved. Already eight counties have smoking bans.
“I’m expecting some version of it” to become law, said House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter.
Still, health activists weren’t ready to stop lobbying for the smoking ban Monday, saying its passage wasn’t certain.
“We have a chance, but we’re going to have to work very hard,” said June Deen of the American Lung Association.
Originally written By: KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press
