The Smoking Ban
The Oklahoma smoking ban in restaurants effective March 1, 2006 is the culmination of a battle that raged for years and one conducted with little or no regard for the rights of smokers and those businesses that wish to accomodate them.
There were actually two attempts in 2002 by the Oklahoma State Health Department to arbitrarily impose a smoking ban in Oklahoma. The first attempt was defeated when then Governor Frank Keating nixed the Health Department rules on the basis they violated the law.
The second attempt was defeated when a District Judge in Creek County issued an injunction against the enforcement of the Health Department smoking ban. The judges decision basically focused on the fact that the Health Department lacked the legal authority to arbitrarily enact a smoking ban. The judge’s ruling applied state-wide and signaled the end of the effort to force a smoking ban upon Oklahoma via the Health Department.
In 2003, newly elected Governor Brad Henry jumped onto the anti-smoking bandwagon and threw his support behind a legislative effort at a far reaching smoking ban that would affect many thousands of Oklahomans, infringing the rights of restaurant operators in the process. That legislative effort is the smoking ban whose final provision, the banishment of smokers from Oklahoma restaurants is effective March 1, 2006.
With the 2003 session of the Oklahoma Legislature in its final days, several deals were struck in order to force a smoking ban through as the legislative session came to a close. The biggest proponents of the smoking ban in addition to Governor Henry were Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, Senator Ben Robinson, D-Muskogee and Representative Ray Vaughn, R-Edmond.
When it was all said and done on May 28, 2003, the Senate passed the legislation by a vote of 36 - 9.
Those senators voting in favor of the smoking ban were:
Aldridge, Branan, Cain, Capps, Coates, Crutchfield, Easley, Fisher, Gumm, Harrison, Helton, Hobson, Horner, Johnson, Kerr, Laster, Laughlin, Lawler, Leftwich,Maddox, Milacek, Monson, Morgan, Myers, Nichols, Price, Reynolds, Riley, Robinson, Rozell, Shurden, Smith, Wilcoxson, Wilkerson, Williams and Williamson.
Those senators voting against the smoking ban were:
Brogdon, Coffee, Corn, Dunlap, Ford, Littlefield, Pruitt, Rabon and Snyder.
Two senators, Fair and Taylor, were excused and one senate seat was empty.
The Oklahoma House passed the smoking ban the following day, May 29, 2003 by a vote of 52 - 45 with 4 Representatives excused.
Those Representatives voting for the smoking ban were:
Adair, Askings, Balkman, Blackburn, Bonny, Boren, Braddock, Brannon, Calvey, Carey, Covey, Cox, Dank, Davis, Deutschendorf, Dorman, Easley, Eddins, Gilbert, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harrison, Hastings, Hilliard, Lamons, Langmacher, Lerblance, Lindley, Maddux, McCarter, McClain, McIntyre, Miller, R., Mitchell, Morgan, D., Nations, Paulk, Perry, Pettigrew, Piatt, Pope, Rice, Roan, Staggs, Sullivan, Sweeden, Toure, Tyler, Vaughn, Walker, Wells and Wilson.
Those Representatives voting against the smoking ban were:
Adkins, Armes, Benge, Blackwell, Cargill, Case, Claunch, Coleman, DeWitt, Ellis, Ericson, Erwin, Ferguson, Graves, Hefner, Hiett, Hutchison, Ingmire, Jones, Kirby, Leist, Liotta, Miller, D., Morgan, F., O’Neal, Peters, Peterson, Phillips, Plunk, Reynolds, Roggow, Smaligo, Smith, D., Smith, H., Smithson, Steele, Taylor, Tibbs, Trebilcock, Turner, Wilt, Winchester, Worthen, Wright and Young.
Those Representatives excused from voting were:
Nance, Newport, Roberts and Stanley.
The smoking ban prohibits smoking in public workplaces and most restaurants. All provisions of the ban on smoking in workplaces went into effect on September 1, 2003 however the ban on smoking in restaurants was delayed until March 1, 2006. The thirty-month delay was supposedly to give restaurants time to build costly accomodations for smokers or to simply give up and go non-smoking. Estimates of the costs for providing ’smoking rooms’ ranged from $10,000 to $80,000 per restaurant. The thirty-month delay also gave smokers time to forget which of the state’s legislators actually voted for the ban.
There are some exceptions to the smoking ban:
Smoking would be allowed in bars and cigar bars. Smoking would be allowed in restaurants where more than 60 percent of the revenues are derived from alcohol sales and where no one under 21 is allowed. Smoking is also allowed in outdoor seating areas of a restaurant. Also exempt from the smoking ban are facilities owned by veterans organizations.