The House of Delegates Tuesday set itself up on a collision course with the Senate over exemptions from the proposed statewide smoking ban.
Senators were scheduled to start debating their version of the bill late Wednesday afternoon. It included exemptions for nonprofit or charitable civic and fraternal clubs such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
But the House Economic Matters Committee chose not to exempt those groups in the bill it approved late Tuesday afternoon by a 15-8 vote. Only two Democrats ? Dels. Sonny Minnick, D- Baltimore County, and Mary Ann Love, D-Anne Arundel ? voted with the committee?s six Republicans against the ban.
Del. Sue Hecht, D-Frederick, told fellow committee members Tuesday evening she had received many calls from constituents about the need for a statewide smoking ban.
“They said please don?t put in any exemptions,” Hecht said.
But rural senators argued passionately in a Senate committee earlier this week for exemptions for those civic clubs, saying they become the center of the social scene in many small towns especially for veterans and seniors.
After the Baltimore City Council voted in February to implement a citywide ban, Gov. Martin O?Malley said he would sign a statewide bill if it came to his desk. O?Malley said Tuesday, but “we should not have it [a statewide ban] riddled with exemptions.”
Minnick, owner of a Dundalk bar, offered the House amendment to eliminate exemptions, saying he wanted to make sure “everybody?s playingby the same rules.”
The House is expected to debate the bill later this week. Differences between the bills have to be worked out before they become law.
Both measures agree on an exemption for retail tobacco shops and both allow for a hardship waiver for businesses. But the House version gave waiver-granting authority to the state?s health commissioner, while the Senate version gave that authority to the local health departments.
“This bill is going to hurt small businesses,” said freshman Del. James King, R-Anne Arundel, who owns two restaurants in Anne Arundel County.
