Tobacco.org

Smoking ban foes blast rule 

Some business owners and lawmakers complained Wednesday about proposed rules for the state's new smoking ban, saying they treat hundreds of bars as restaurants and outlaw smoking in outdoor patio areas.

"In my mind and in the minds of just about every single legislator I've talked with in the past week - and that's about 20 or so - this is an absolute perversion of the legislative intent. Period," said Rep. McKinley Bailey, a Webster City Democrat who voted against the bill in April.

The state's administrative rules are intended to help clarify and implement laws and spell out details of enforcement. The Legislature's Administrative Rules Review Committee discussed the proposed rules for the smoking ban Wednesday.

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