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Rep. McCord caught allowing smoking in state office building 

Local Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, said Tuesday he expects to receive a formal complaint over allowing smoking in his offices and that he will no longer allow the practice. Smoking has been banned in state-owned buildings for several years. Nashville television station WSMV reported Monday that McCord had been allowing people to smoke in a conference room he shared with another representative who has been absent while undergoing treatment for cancer. "I've known that occasionally people smoke in my office," McCord said. "I should have disallowed it, but there will be no more." McCord said some of the staff at his office had been smoking for years, and he had decided not to order them to stop as long as there were no complaints about it. After the TV report, he said he expects to receive a formal complaint and he said he is no longer allowing anyone to smoke in his office.

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