2009 House Bill 4377 (Prohibit allowing restaurant or private workplace smoking )

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Public Act 188 of 2009

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Introduced by Rep. Lee Gonzales (D) on February 19, 2009, to prohibit a business owner, including the owner of a bar or restaurant, from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. Existing cigar bars and tobacco specialty retail stores, gambling areas of casinos, and home offices would be exempt.
- Referred to the House Regulatory Reform Committee on February 19, 2009.
  - Reported in the House on May 21, 2009, with the recommendation that the substitute (H-3) be adopted and that the bill then pass.
- Substitute offered in the House on May 26, 2009. The substitute passed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Douglas Geiss (D) on May 26, 2009, to not prohibit owners of restaurants or bars from allowing smoking if it is in a separate room with a separate ventilation system from the non-smoking areas. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Stamas (R) on May 26, 2009, to sunset the bill's "no smoking" sign mandates after two years. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Stamas (R) on May 26, 2009, to not require restaurant or bar managers and employees to try to stop a person from smoking despite the prohibition, but do require them to inform the smoker, document violations and turn the information over to the health department. In other words, an establishment could not lose its license for not trying to stop a smoker. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Tom Pearce (R) on May 26, 2009, to exempt bars and restaurants within 20 miles of an Indian casino (which this proposed law would not affect). The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Rick Jones (R) on May 26, 2009, to exempt VFW, American Legion and other veteran organization halls. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Rick Jones (R) on May 26, 2009, to exempt fraternal organizations, private clubs, banquet facilities, or other establishments not open to the public. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Robert Genetski (R) on May 26, 2009, to move back the date the bill goes into effect to Jan. 1, 2010 (instead of "30 days after enacted"). The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on May 26, 2009, to exempt nonprofit organizations holding a charitable event. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Jim Stamas (R) on May 26, 2009, to exempt bars and restaurants. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Marc Corriveau (D) on May 26, 2009, to exempt the non-food service portion of horse race tracks. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Mike Simpson (D) on May 26, 2009, to exempt license bingo or "millionaire party" charitable gambling events. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Bert Johnson (D) on May 26, 2009, to exempt "smoking establishments" that are private clubs or facilities, have no employees under age 21, and are physically separated from a non-smoking food service establishment. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Bert Johnson (D) on May 26, 2009, to not allow any new "cigar bars" after Dec. 31, 2009. The amendment passed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Substitute offered by Rep. Paul Scott (R) on May 26, 2009, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that contains no exemptions, but instead prohibits the owner of any business, bar or restaurant from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. The substitute failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
- Substitute offered by Rep. Joan Bauer (D) on May 26, 2009, to replace the previous version of the bill with one that contains no exemptions, but instead prohibits the owner of any business, bar or restaurant from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. The substitute failed in the House by voice vote on May 26, 2009.
Passed in the House (73 to 31) on May 26, 2009. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the Senate on June 2, 2009.
- Referred to the Senate Government Operations and Reform Committee on June 2, 2009.
- Substitute offered in the Senate on December 10, 2009, to adopt a version of the bill that exempts the Detroit casinos from the prohibition. The substitute passed in the Senate by voice vote on December 10, 2009.
- Substitute offered by Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R) on December 10, 2009, to adopt a version that allows owners of restaurants near one of the exempted casinos to petition to also be given an exemption allowing them to choose whether or not to allow smoking in their establishments. The substitute failed in the Senate by voice vote on December 10, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Sen. Irma Clark-Coleman (D) on December 10, 2009, to exempt from the prohibition three bars in Detroit Metro airport that were built with separate ventilation systems and intended as places in this otherwise no-smoking facility where people could smoke. The amendment failed in the Senate by voice vote on December 10, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Sen. John Gleason (D) on December 10, 2009, to name the proposed law after a certain politician who currently holds office with the amendment sponsor. The amendment failed in the Senate by voice vote on December 10, 2009.
Passed in the Senate (24 to 13) on December 10, 2009, to prohibit a business owner, including the owner of a bar or restaurant, from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. The Detroit casinos, existing cigar bars and tobacco specialty retail stores, work vehicles and home offices would be exempt. [Vote Details and Comments]
Received in the House on December 10, 2009.
- Amendment offered by Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R) on December 10, 2009, to allow smoking at certain charitable events held by non-profit organizations. The amendment failed in the House by voice vote on December 10, 2009.
Passed in the House (75 to 30) on December 10, 2009, to prohibit a business owner, including the owner of a bar or restaurant, from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. The Detroit casinos, existing cigar bars and tobacco specialty retail stores, work vehicles and home offices would be exempt. [Vote Details and Comments]
Signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on December 18, 2009.

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1) Re: 2009 House Bill 4377 (Prohibit allowing restaurant or private workplace smoking ) [by FreeSpeaker on March 20, 2010]

[quote user="moe iii"]

[quote user="FreeSpeaker"]Secondhand smoke is a known health hazard.[/quote]Here is one problem with your thinking. To be acurate,

Secondhand smoke may be a public health hazard.

http://www.connectingsingles.com/forum_0_52682_1/second_hand_smoke_hoax.htm

[/quote]

Ah-h-h-h. the Arnett article, once again!

Here is the problem with your thinking: You have been taken in by a source that does not tell the whole story.

Arnett -- author of the article to which you refer us -- asserts that in 1998 a federal court judge threw out the 1993 Environmental Protection Agency report that tagged secondhand tobacco smoke as a health hazard. The "thing" about his assertion lies in a couple of details that Arnett leaves out that also are terribly inconvenient to Arnett's argument: First, in 1998 the judge only partially ruled on the health hazard question and left most of the EPA's scientific findings about health hazards intact. Second, the judge's ruling subsequently was overturned by the same federal appeals court in 2003, and the EPA's findings thus were reinstated in their entirety.

So, the matter of whether secondhand tobacco smoke is a hazard to public health really has been settled, not only by science, but by and in the court system. And let there be no doubt that the validated findings say secondhand smoke is a public health hazard.

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2) Re: 2009 House Bill 4377 (Prohibit allowing restaurant or private workplace smoking ) [by gypsy on March 20, 2010]

The article you gave direction to was written by Jerome Arnett Jr., a
pulmonologist and writer. He wrote this
commentary for the Competitive Enterprise Institute. One of this think
tank's major funder's is the Philip Morris tobacco company.

'nough
said.

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3) Re: 2009 House Bill 4377 (Prohibit allowing restaurant or private workplace smoking ) [by moe iii on March 20, 2010]

[quote user="FreeSpeaker"]Secondhand smoke is a known health hazard.[/quote]Here is one problem with your thinking. To be acurate,

Secondhand smoke may be a public health hazard.

http://www.connectingsingles.com/forum_0_52682_1/second_hand_smoke_hoax.htm

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