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• Pricey fight over ban expected 

Backers of a statewide smoking ban say they expect to be outspent by opponents in what's expected to be a hard-fought campaign after deciding Thursday not to appeal a judge's ruling. The decision makes the prospect of a November vote more likely.

However, Attorney General Marty Jackley says he and Secretary of State Chris Nelson will meet today to discuss a possible appeal. A decision is likely within a week.

Jackley said the American Cancer Society's decision not to appeal "is certainly a consideration" as he and Nelson decide the state's course. . . .

If, as Don Rose suggests, the state follows the cancer society's lead and decides not to appeal, the 2010 referendum will follow. Opponents of the ban such as Rose say this is what they've wanted all along. Rose owns Shenanigan's Pub, is a district director of the Licensed Beverage Dealers of South Dakota and was a key organizer of the referendum petition drive that ended up before Trandahl after the Cancer Society challenged the validity of thousands of signatures.

"A vote of the people is what they should have done in the first place," Rose said.

"Our deal was we always wanted to be able to let the people vote," added Mark O'Neill, president of the Licensed Beverage Dealers of South Dakota.

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• American Cancer Society Won't Appeal Smoking Ban Ruling 

American Cancer Society South Dakota Government Relations Director Jennifer Stalley says, “It is appropriate that today, on the 34th annual American Cancer Society Great American Smoke Out—a day dedicated to helping smokers quit—the American Cancer Society, along with more than fifty diverse public health, business and medical groups, will begin in earnest our statewide effort to support the smoke free law on the November 2010 ballot and ensure that no one has to choose between their health and their job in our great state."

“We are confident that the vast majority of South Dakotans support this law and that by this time next year –the 35th annual Great American Smoke Out—South Dakota will be a smoke free state.”

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• Cancer Society says it won't appeal smoking ban appeal decision 

Officials for the American Cancer Society in South Dakota say they won't appeal a court decision that will now send a smoking ban in South Dakota bars, restaurants, casinos and other businesses to the vote of the people in 2010.

The announcement by the Society's government relations director Jennifer Stally came on the 34th annaul American Cancer Society Great American Smoke Out Day. Stalley said in a news release that the Cancer Society "will begin in earnest our statewide effort to support the smoke free law on the November 2010 ballot and ensure that no one has to choose between their health and their job in our great state."

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Deal says he would sign cigarette tax increase bill if elected governor  

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal says he'd sign a bill raising the state cigarette tax $1 a pack if he's elected governor next year.

Campaigning this week in Savannah, Deal said the bill deserves consideration, but added he probably wouldn't push for its passage.

The Gainesville lawmaker's comments are the closest any GOP candidate for governor has come to backing the proposal.

The proposal by state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, has been opposed by the GOP majorities in the House and Senate.

But some experts say it may get another look when the legislature reconvenes Jan. 11 and tries to grapple with a worsening budget crisis.

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Our Opinion: Smoking Ban Extension Decision Belongs To Us 

Based on a judge's decision last week - and pending a possible appeal - South Dakota's proposed smoking ban extension will go to a vote of the people a year from now. And that's where the decision belongs.

The law, which would ban smoking in bars, video lottery operations and Deadwood casinos, was passed by the Legislature last winter. . . .

What we all hope should follow during the next year is an informative discussion on the pros and cons of public smoking. This discussion should include the rights of business owners versus the rights of the public, the dangers of smoking and second-hand smoke, the economic impact of smoking not only in terms of businesses that may rely on it but also on health care in this country. The discussion must also include what's best for the future of this state and for its people.

The smoking ban vote should be an opportunity for the public to get involved in this dialogue. Whether we all do or not remains to be seen. Let's all hope to see it.

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Judge rules smoking ban can go to vote  

Citizens have the right to refer South Dakota's expanded smoking ban to a statewide vote, Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled Thursday. Now it's up to her judgment whether sufficient signatures are valid on the petitions to put the referendum on the Nov. 2, 2010 ballot.

The trial over those signatures heads into the second and presumably final day this morning at the Hughes County courthouse, with the petitioners standing 17 signatures short of the 16,776 minimum necessary to make the battle. . . .

Under test is South Dakota's doctrine of substantial compliance regarding election laws. More than 8,000 signatures were rejected by Nelson. Lawyers for the three sides in the case spent Thursday afternoon battling over why signatures were disallowed.

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Smoking Ban Ruling May Impact Petition Process 

A statewide smoking ban may be the issue at the center of a court challenge in South Dakota, but Secretary of State Chris Nelson's part in the trial to put the ban on the ballot had nothing to do with smoking.

"The court found that there were a number of areas where we had determined there were errors with the petitions that the court has the authority to find substantial compliance and essentially overlook those types of errors," Nelson said.

Nelson plans to sit down with Attorney General Marty Jackley later this week to talk about the rules and laws regarding petitions and see if this ruling to allow these errors sets a precedent.

"If a court says these types of errors are okay, where does that land us on the next petitions? What other things are going to be okay then, and then we get to a point of is there integrity left in the petition process?" Nelson said.

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If a court says these types of errors are okay, where does that land us on the next petitions? What other things are going to be okay then, and then we get to a point of is there integrity left in the petition process?
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, on the smoking ban ruling.

Decisions on smoking ban appeals may emerge this week 

State officials should know this week whether they will appeal a judge's decision that paved the way for a public vote next November on a smoking ban in South Dakota.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday the decision to appeal Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl's ruling last Friday "will happen sometime this week" once he and Attorney General Marty Jackley find time to sit down and discuss it.

Jennifer Stalley, a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society, said her group also hopes to decide on a potential appeal this week.

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Sessions Stands Behind Remarks that Women are Like Smokers, Insurance Companies Should Charge More 

One week has passed since NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (TX) made controversial remarks defending the insurance industry's practice of charging women more than men for health insurance by equating being a woman to being a smoker:

REP. PALLONE (D-NJ): Why should a woman pay more than a man?

REP. SESSIONS (R-TX): Well now. We're all different. Why should a smoker pay more than a non-smoker?

Yesterday his office provided their first public response to the controversy in a statement to the Dallas Morning News that stood by the comparison.

"We scoured the statement provided by Representative Sessions's office about his insulting remarks to look for the phrase 'I was wrong,' but found nothing," said Jesse Ferguson, Southern Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

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UPDATED: Sessions hammered for comment on women, health care  

Memo to Dallas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions: Think twice before making comparisons.

Sessions, who famously compared his own party to the Taliban, is taking heat from liberal groups and Democrats for a comment reportedly made last week in a debate over higher health insurance premiums that women pay.

Asked why that should be, Sessions replied: "Well, we're all different. Why should a smoker pay more?"

As with the Taliban comment, there's an argument buried in there somewhere, about whether, for instance, higher premiums are justified because of, for instance, childbirth costs. We'll leave that to the experts. But Sessions, as leader of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is a huge political target. And Democrats sense the GOP is exacerbating its problem with large numbers of women's voters. So you can bet this one will be echoed quite a bit throughout the health care debate.

UPDATE: Sessions spokeswoman Emily Davis has responded, accusing "liberal partisans" of offering "peddled fabrications." Davis writes:

At no time during the exchange did Mr. Sessions use the word "woman" or "women." In fact, only Democrats brought up gender in the discussion. Neither Mr. Sessions nor any Democrat made any connection between women and smokers.

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Group hopes to overturn ban on smoking  

Ohio's smoking ban is under fire from groups that contend the petition effort that put it on the 2006 ballot was done improperly.

Opponents of Ohio Bans said numerous irregularities, including the collection of signatures by 46 convicted felons, spoiled the petition. The Ohio News Network reports members of Buckeye Liquor Permit Holders Association want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. The group contends the petitions should not have been certified.

Voters approved the ban on smoking in most public places including bars and restaurants with a nearly 59 percent majority.

Bill Beechum, owner of Wild Bill's, 148 S. Main St., supports an investigation.

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Unusual strategies fell short for American Cancer Society in fight on smoking ban vote ($$) 

Two unusual arguments made in court on behalf of the American Cancer Society last week didn't get far.

Cancer society lawyer Richard Casey of Sioux Falls claimed that South Dakota's expanded smoking ban couldn't be referred to a public vote because the ban was necessary to preserve public health. Read more...

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HAMMOND: Albany gasbags are full of it 

State lawmakers are spouting so much hot air about the state's budget crisis these days, it's a wonder the Capitol hasn't lifted off the ground like the old man's house in the movie "Up." . . .

They've got nothing.

Ditto for Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn, who made a big show yesterday of demanding that Paterson immediately start enforcing cigarette tax laws on Indian reservations.

It's true that Albany has tolerated rampant tax evasion that hurts law-abiding merchants and costs state and local government big bucks.

But for Kruger to claim that enforcement could reap $1.6 billion a year is reckless. "If people smoked that much there would be a big black cloud over the state blocking out the sun," one budget official quipped.

Throwing around numbers like that suggests that Kruger is exploiting the issue as an excuse not to grapple with the politically dicey work of finding cuts.

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Schwarzenegger wows US troops on return to Iraq 

Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to Iraq on a morale-boosting visit for US troops on Monday, drawing cheers from servicemen and women, some of whom were lucky enough to be gifted a cigar.

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• Calif. group pushes for $1 tobacco tax increase for cancer research 

Smokers in California will have to dig much deeper into their pockets to buy a pack of cigarettes next year if a proposed ballot measure passes.

The Californians for a Cure plan is aimed at raising millions of dollars for cancer research, smoking prevention programs and to help bankroll anti-tobacco smuggling efforts. The measure is backed by, among others, cancer research and health advocates.

Their plan calls for a buck increase in the state's excise tax on tobacco, to $1.87 per pack. The money raised would flow into a trust fund. Sixty-cents of the dollar raised from a pack of smokes would to go to fund research on cancer and other smoking-related illnesses.

Under the plan, 20 cents would go to fund smoking cessation and tobacco use prevention programs, 15 cents would go to help fund research facilities, while three pennies would go to fund tobacco smuggling enforcement.

The plan calls for about two percent of the revenue to go for administrative costs.

How the money would be spent would be overseen by a nine-member oversight committee.

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