State buildings Update
Gov. Kaine Signs Smoking Ban in State Buildings
Oct 26th , 2006
RICHMOND, Va. — Don’t expect to find ashtrays in state buildings or state-owned cars in Virginia anymore.
Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order on Thursday banning smoking in state buildings and cars, citing scientific evidence that secondhand smoke hurts those who inhale.
The decision – in a tobacco state – has people like American Cancer Society spokesman Keenan Caldwell thrilled.
“This past July, the Surgeon General of the United States issued a report saying there are absolutely no safe levels in secondhand smoke, so that’s significant in the governor recognizing that issue, and taking it forward is tremendous,” Caldwell says.
The new order puts Virginia in line with many private employers who already ban smoking in their buildings.
Smoking in state buildings is limited in the District and 21 states.
The smoking ban also applies to state colleges.
Kaine elaborates on smoking ban
Aug 31, 2006
MICHAEL HARDY
MICHAEL HARDY
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who is soon expected to strengthen rules against smoking in state buildings, said yesterday that he could support reasonable limits on puffing in bars and restaurants.
Currently, either the manager of a state facility or the agency chief sets the policy. It has left a crazy-quilt set of rules in buildings under the control of the executive branch.
“I was surprised to learn when I got to be governor that there wasn’t a uniform state policy about smoking in state buildings,” Kaine told reporters yesterday.
“That’s something that I’m thinking about,” said Kaine, who added that his administration has been collecting agency data about no-smoking practices since May. He could act alone on new rules for buildings.
Kaine made the comments in Richmond during a campaign appearance with Jim Webb, the Democratic candidate who is running against U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va.
Kaine pointed to heightened interest spurred by the surgeon general’s recent report about the hazards of secondhand smoke.
Susan Pollard, communications director of the Department of General Services, said smoking is prohibited in its 4,000-vehicle fleet.
“Gosh, everybody from tobacco companies on down now say that secondhand smoking is a health problem,” Kaine said. “I think in my role as an employer, we should be doing something about that.”
“I am the employer of all the folks who work for the executive branch agencies and institutions in the commonwealth. It’s something that I take seriously.”
About 100,000 people work for the state, which has long prided itself on its tobacco heritage. Philip Morris USA has its corporate headquarters and a huge manufacturing plant in the Richmond area. The tobacco industry still wields considerable clout through its contributions to many state politicians, including the governor.
Despite his apparent determination to act on his own, Kaine said he is reluctant for government to impose smoking restrictions on private employers.
“I think there is a legitimate question about the reach of government when it comes to having to mandate it,” he said. “What are we going to do, come in and arrest you?”
He noted that his father owned a five-man welding shop in Kansas City, and smoking was permitted. But when Kaine worked as a lawyer at a Richmond firm, the business instituted a no-smoking policy about 20 years ago.
Last winter, the Senate of Virginia endorsed a smoking ban in most public, indoor locations, but Kaine opposed it. A House subcommittee killed it on a unanimous vote.
Yesterday, Kaine said he would be willing to consider a much narrower legislative ban that might apply, for example, to bars and restaurants.
Some 22 states ban smoking in state buildings.
