OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma Senate panel has
snuffed out a measure that would have allowed cities and towns to enact
stricter bans on smoking.
The Senate General Government Committee voted 6-2
on Monday against the proposal that was endorsed by Republican Gov. Mary
Fallin in her State of the State address.
The Smoking in Public Places and Indoor Workplaces
Act by Ardmore Republican Sen. Frank Simpson would have allowed local
governments to adopt stricter smoking ordinances than state law.
Currently, municipalities are prohibited from doing so.
Simpson said his idea allowed more local control,
but opponents argued it was unfair to businesses that had spent
thousands of dollars complying with current state law that allows, for
example, smoking in bars or separately ventilated smoking rooms in
restaurants.
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