Wisconsin Law Blog

Date: 11/9/2008

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press Writer


MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ A statewide smoking ban that went up in smoke in the Legislature last year will likely be reignited when Democrats take control of the Assembly.

Even though opposition to the ban came mostly from the powerful Tavern League lobby, Republican leaders in the Assembly did not actively work on getting the bipartisan bill passed.

But in the past eight months, five more Wisconsin communities and Dane County have passed their own smoking bans, bolstering the argument that a comprehensive state policy is needed.

This fall, the American Cancer Society and other supporters of the ban carefully watched legislative races across the state to get a sense for where candidates stood.

“We feel comfortable saying there’s a majority of votes for this bill to get it passed,” said Eric Schutt, lobbyist for the cancer society’s Wisconsin chapter.

Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Smoke Free Wisconsin, said she feels good about the new makeup of the Legislature: Democrats now control both chambers. Also, one of the ban’s stiffest opponents, former Tavern League President Roger Breske, left the state Senate earlier this year to become Doyle’s railroad commissioner.

Nearly every legislative candidate was asked about their position on the smoking ban during the campaign, Busalacchi said.

“I’m very comfortable with where people are at,” she said. “This is going to happen.”

The Tavern League, however, hasn’t changed its position. Chief executive Pete Madland said he didn’t think there was any momentum for the idea even though five communities and one county have passed local bans since March. He notes that other communities, including Kenosha, have rejected it.

Tavern League lobbyist Scott Stenger said all the candidates who opposed the ban won Tuesday, while some supporters, including Republican Reps. Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls and J.A. “Doc” Hines of Oxford, lost.

Another smoking ban proponent, Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, retired from the Assembly.

Still, Stenger agreed the Legislature is ready to act on a ban. The league is looking for concessions allowing bars to have designated indoor and outdoor smoking areas and time to build them if necessary, he said.

In all, nine Wisconsin communities and Dane County have smoking bans covering all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. Nationwide, 24 states have banned smoking in bars and restaurants, and of those, 17 include all other workplaces as well, according to the American Cancer Society. Seven more states prohibit smoking in restaurants but exempt stand-alone bars.

The Wisconsin proposal supported by Doyle, the Cancer Society and others would ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants.

Last year, it ran into trouble with Breske and other state senators, including Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, who wanted to delay its implementation and give bars an exemption of up to three years. Republican leaders in the Assembly never got on board, and the bill died.

Bill sponsor Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said he’s working on a new version he hopes to introduce early in the session. He said the ban’s start date remains uncertain, but he would like it to take effect as soon as possible and at the same time in all workplaces, including bars.

“I just think that the public awareness and the public support keeps increasing every year,” Risser said, “and I think it’s to the point where it will gel, and we’ll be able to pass it.”

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.