Entries tagged with “local politics” from Smoke-Free St. Louis

The St. Louis County Council on Tuesday received a bill that calls for a countywide vote on an indoor smoking ban, but the measure did not include specific provisions.

The council would get that part of the bill next Tuesday.

County Councilwoman Barbara Fraser, D-University City, introduced the bill that would put the proposed ban before voters this fall. She and the county counselor's office were working out the details.

Fraser faces a tight deadline to win approval for the measure. To go on the Nov. 3 ballot, it would have to pass the County Council by Aug. 25.

County Executive Charlie A. Dooley still favors a statewide ban rather than a county one, said Mike Jones, senior policy adviser. Dooley also has to study the details of Fraser's bill, Jones said.

Asked if Dooley would veto Fraser's bill, Jones said the question "puts many carts ahead of the horse." The bill needs four votes on the seven-member council to pass; overriding a veto requires five votes.

If the smoking ban goes on the ballot and is approved by voters, it would apply both in municipalities and in unincorporated areas because it is a health measure.

Fraser has said she would use the smoking ban that Clayton approved last week and a smoking ban bill St. Louis aldermen are considering as her models. After the council meeting, she said she is meeting with many people on the issue. "It's a work in progress," she said.

The Clayton ban affects workplaces, stores, restaurants and hotels, with some exceptions, such as tobacco shops, cigar bars, 20 percent of hotel rooms and businesses' outdoor patios.

When asked about exempting casinos, Fraser repeated her comment about her measure being a work in progress.

When the council last considered a smoking ban in 2005 and 2006 an exemption for casinos was a highly contentious issue.

Bill Hannegan, a prominent opponent of smoking bans, said in a comment in the Post-Dispatch's Political Fix blog that Keep St. Louis Free, which opposes smoking bans, would seek help to defeat a county ban if it contained a casino exemption. The assistance would come from conservative groups "who oppose special treatment for casinos ... to fight such an unfair advantage for out-of-town owned casinos over locally owned mom and pop county businesses," Hannegan said.

St. Louis Alderman Lyda Krewson called Fraser's bill "a positive step. It brings us closer to smoke-free air."

Dan Apted, an owner of the Cheshire Lodge hotel and restaurant complex that straddles St. Louis and St. Louis County just southwest of Forest Park, said that its Fox and Hounds Tavern has become smoke-free. The lodge became smoke-free in 2006. In a statement, Apted said the change improves the quality of life "of those around me and those we serve."

Kirkwood Mayor Arthur McDonnell and Debra Cotten, a spokeswoman for Healthy Air for Kirkwood, said the group's initiative for a smoking ban would be on the Nov. 3 ballot no matter what the county does. The city is legally obligated to finish the initiative process, McDonnell said.