An Oakland County Board of Commissioners committee Monday snuffed a proposed countywide smoking ban…
Smoking ban falls short in county
PONTIAC — An Oakland County Board of Commissioners committee Monday snuffed a proposed countywide smoking ban, but the ban’s sponsor insists he isn’t giving up.
With a 5-5 vote split along party lines, the GOP-controlled General Government Committee rebuffed a measure that would have banned smoking in public and private workplaces, including hotels, retail stores and sports arenas. Only bars and restaurants would have been exempt.
“The issue needs to be done on a broader basis,” said Commissioner Hugh Crawford, one of five Republicans who voted no after more than two hours of heated debate. “The state needs to do it, not county by county, city by city.”
But Commissioner Eric Coleman, who proposed the ban, said he isn’t giving up.
The Southfield Democrat said he will reintroduce his resolution to the full 25-member board once he gets an attorney’s opinion on whether or not the board can pass such an ordinance. The county’s corporation counsel Monday said county boards can only approve or deny ordinances that ban smoking; they must be written by the health department.
“It’s not dead,” Coleman said. “I’m not giving up. It’s going to pass in Oakland County, and it’s going to pass in my lifetime.”
Oakland County isn’t the first to consider a smoking ban. Wayne County imposed a ban last year, and 14 other Michigan counties, including Washtenaw and Ingham, have bans.
Supporters say the bans are largely self-enforcing and there aren’t enforcement costs. Critics disagree and say it’s the state’s job to enforce its own Clean Indoor Air Act.
Coleman first proposed a ban in Oakland three years ago that went nowhere. After introducing another in July, the General Government Committee tabled the measure last month to give Coleman time to meet with the county’s head of health and human services, Tom Gordon, who questioned enforcement costs.
At Monday’s meeting, Coleman said he was supposed to meet with Gordon in late August but it never happened because Gordon was called out of town to help deal with Hurricane Ernesto.
A proposal to table the measure failed.
Susan Graham, a member of the county’s tobacco reduction task force, said she was appalled by the committee’s behavior Monday.
The committee did expand Oakland’s current smoking ban in county facilities to prohibit smoking within 15 feet of entrances.
Originally written By Maureen Feighan
