ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The council voted 4-3 to move the issue toward the ballot. The council decided to delay a final vote on the bill until Aug. 18, even though under council rules it automatically goes on the agenda of next week's meeting for final passage.
The four council members who supported putting the proposal on the ballot are Councilwoman Barbara Fraser, D-University City, the bill's sponsor; and council members Greg Quinn, R-Ballwin, Steve Stenger, D-Affton, and Colleen Wasinger, R-Town and Country.
Opposing the smoking ban vote were council Chairwoman Hazel Erby, D-University City, and council members Kathleen Burkett, D-Overland, and Mike O'Mara, D-Florissant.
After the meeting, County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, said, "I won't take a position until I see the final bill." Dooley has opposed a countywide smoking ban in the past; he has said a ban should be statewide.
The council has until Aug. 18 to put the smoking ban on the ballot. The council rejected by the same 4-3 vote a suggestion from O'Mara that the council's justice and health committee consider the issue. He said the smoking ban measure needed more discussion and compromise.
Until Tuesday, the bill only called for the election with no exemptions. That version of the bill failed.
Fraser then proposed amending the original bill to include the exemptions for casino floors and drinking establishments whose sale of alcoholic beverages equals 75 percent of gross sales. That version tentatively passed.
Under the revised bill, the council would rescind the exemption for the gambling floor if St. Louis, St. Charles County, the city of St. Charles or the state of Missouri passed a smoking ban that prohibited smoking in these areas.
The measure also says that if St. Louis or the state were to pass a ban without an exemption for drinking establishments, the County Council would do the same thing. Among other exemptions are private clubs and private and semi-private rooms whose residents are smokers at long-term care facilities.
Before the council's vote on the measure, members listened to more than 70 people who spoke for two hours on the subject.
Michael St. Pierre, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's, said a smoking ban could lead to a "substantial drop in revenue and layoffs of employees." Customers who want to gamble and smoke could go to a casino just three miles away, he said.
Maryland Heights Mayor G. Michael Moeller said the entire county has benefited from the casino in his city, noting the city has or will use a total of $47 million on road projects that help everyone.
Former County Councilwoman Deborah Kersting, who now is executive director of the Missouri March of Dimes, said smoking can lead to birth defects and low birth weights.
State Rep. Jeanette Oxford, D-St. Louis, said lawmakers are not likely to impose a statewide ban. Opponents, she said, "know where to grease the wheels in the right places" to stop one.
Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher lauded having a vote. He said he has to deal with more important issues. "I want the issue out of my hair," he said.
Before the council meeting, about 20 supporters of a smoking ban stood in front of the county administration building to drum up backing for it.
At a news conference, Misty Snodgrass, government relations director of the Missouri unit of the American Cancer Society, urged council members to send the issue to voters. "It is an important public health measure," she said.
In a statement she said "smoke-free laws are a great example of cancer prevention."
She opposed exempting casino floors and bars in the smoking ban. She said her group of smoking-ban supporters would decide whether they would campaign for a measure that includes these exemptions after they see the measure's final form.
The council has until Aug. 18 to put the smoking ban on the ballot. The council rejected by the same 4-3 vote a suggestion from O'Mara that the council's justice and health committee consider the issue. He said the smoking ban measure needed more discussion and compromise.
Until Tuesday, the bill only called for the election with no exemptions. That version of the bill failed.
Fraser then proposed amending the original bill to include the exemptions for casino floors and drinking establishments whose sale of alcoholic beverages equals 75 percent of gross sales. That version tentatively passed.
Under the revised bill, the council would rescind the exemption for the gambling floor if St. Louis, St. Charles County, the city of St. Charles or the state of Missouri passed a smoking ban that prohibited smoking in these areas.
The measure also says that if St. Louis or the state were to pass a ban without an exemption for drinking establishments, the County Council would do the same thing. Among other exemptions are private clubs and private and semi-private rooms whose residents are smokers at long-term care facilities.
Before the council's vote on the measure, members listened to more than 70 people who spoke for two hours on the subject.
Michael St. Pierre, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's, said a smoking ban could lead to a "substantial drop in revenue and layoffs of employees." Customers who want to gamble and smoke could go to a casino just three miles away, he said.
Maryland Heights Mayor G. Michael Moeller said the entire county has benefited from the casino in his city, noting the city has or will use a total of $47 million on road projects that help everyone.
Former County Councilwoman Deborah Kersting, who now is executive director of the Missouri March of Dimes, said smoking can lead to birth defects and low birth weights.
State Rep. Jeanette Oxford, D-St. Louis, said lawmakers are not likely to impose a statewide ban. Opponents, she said, "know where to grease the wheels in the right places" to stop one.
Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher lauded having a vote. He said he has to deal with more important issues. "I want the issue out of my hair," he said.
Before the council meeting, about 20 supporters of a smoking ban stood in front of the county administration building to drum up backing for it.
At a news conference, Misty Snodgrass, government relations director of the Missouri unit of the American Cancer Society, urged council members to send the issue to voters. "It is an important public health measure," she said.
In a statement she said "smoke-free laws are a great example of cancer prevention."
She opposed exempting casino floors and bars in the smoking ban. She said her group of smoking-ban supporters would decide whether they would campaign for a measure that includes these exemptions after they see the measure's final form.
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