Health News
- Statewide Smoking Ban Dead For This Year, As House Democrats Worry About Political Ramifications In Fall Elections
The sponsor of a bill for a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed public places said it is dead for this year, Tom Loftus reports for The Courier-Journal. Westrom"It's dead," Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, told Loftus. "I've been told that there...
- Chief Sponsor Of Statewide Smoking Ban Says It Has The Votes To Pass The House; Prospects In The Senate Are Not As Good
A bill to ban smoking in most workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars, is on its way to the House floor, its main sponsor said after fast approval in committee. After the House Health and Welfare Committee approved the ban for the...
- Statewide Smoking Ban Close To House Vote, Stumbo Says
For the second straight year, the state House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill that would ban smoking in enclosed public places or workplaces. It is still unlikely to become law, but might get farther in the legislative process. "The proposal...
- Rep. Westrom, Bolstered By Increasing Public Support, Thinks Third Time May Be The Charm To Pass A Statewide Smoking Ban Law
A coalition of health groups say they will give state Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, the most public support ever for a bill to ban smoking in Kentucky restaurants and workplaces, a bill she's tried to get passed twice, Jacqueline Pitts of CN2 reports....
- Smoking Ban Can't Get A Vote Due To Republican Boycott Over Chairman's Block Of Measure For Drug Tests For Welfare Recipients
There could have been a vote Thursday on a bill for a statewide smoking ban, but a Republican boycott of the Democratic-controlled House Health and Welfare Committee over another bill prevented that. "Republicans were upset over the committee chairman's...
Health News
Smoking ban bill clears House committee for first time; but sponsor says she won't take it farther this session
A measure for a statewide smoking ban passed the House Health and Welfare Committee today, the first time such a bill has cleared committee in legislative history, Deborah Yetter reports for The Courier-Journal.
But House Bill 289 is not expected to be called for a vote this year, said its sponsor Rep. Susan Westrom, right, D-Lexington. "I'm not someone who wants to shove something down someone's throat," she said, adding she plans to reintroduce the measure next year.
Westrom predicts support will continue to grow as "people come to realize local smoking bans have worked well in cities, including Louisville, Lexington and Owensboro. Already, 23 states ban smoking statewide in indoor public spaces," Yetter reports.
Support for the bill was given a significant boost when the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce stepped behind it. President David Adkisson said the majority of business owners the chamber talked to support a ban. "We now feel like it needs to be statewide and not a patchwork," he said.
HB 289 passed with a 10-2 vote. Rep. Addia Wuchner, R-Burlington, a candidate for Congress in the Fourth District, was one of two Republicans to vote against the measure, calling it "well meaning" but too intrusive on people's rights. "It is not the role of the government to go this far," she said. (Read more)
- Statewide Smoking Ban Dead For This Year, As House Democrats Worry About Political Ramifications In Fall Elections
The sponsor of a bill for a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed public places said it is dead for this year, Tom Loftus reports for The Courier-Journal. Westrom"It's dead," Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, told Loftus. "I've been told that there...
- Chief Sponsor Of Statewide Smoking Ban Says It Has The Votes To Pass The House; Prospects In The Senate Are Not As Good
A bill to ban smoking in most workplaces and public places, including restaurants and bars, is on its way to the House floor, its main sponsor said after fast approval in committee. After the House Health and Welfare Committee approved the ban for the...
- Statewide Smoking Ban Close To House Vote, Stumbo Says
For the second straight year, the state House Health and Welfare Committee has approved a bill that would ban smoking in enclosed public places or workplaces. It is still unlikely to become law, but might get farther in the legislative process. "The proposal...
- Rep. Westrom, Bolstered By Increasing Public Support, Thinks Third Time May Be The Charm To Pass A Statewide Smoking Ban Law
A coalition of health groups say they will give state Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, the most public support ever for a bill to ban smoking in Kentucky restaurants and workplaces, a bill she's tried to get passed twice, Jacqueline Pitts of CN2 reports....
- Smoking Ban Can't Get A Vote Due To Republican Boycott Over Chairman's Block Of Measure For Drug Tests For Welfare Recipients
There could have been a vote Thursday on a bill for a statewide smoking ban, but a Republican boycott of the Democratic-controlled House Health and Welfare Committee over another bill prevented that. "Republicans were upset over the committee chairman's...