ASSEMBLY OK'S REPEAL OF SMOKING BAN IN BARS

Bill wouldn't take effect until 1999

Four weeks after smoking was outlawed in California bars and casinos, the
Assembly passed a bill last night that would repeal the ban -- but not
until next year.

As smokers openly violated the new law in many areas and bar and casino
operators protested the ban, the Assembly sent the measure to the Senate on
a 42-to-24 vote.

The bill, if it becomes law, would take effect next January. It also would
postpone any future ban for two years, or until the federal government
created a national standard regulating smoking in bars. Smoking was banned
in about 35,000 bars, casinos and clubs on January 1 by a law signed last
year by Governor Pete Wilson.

Assemblyman Edward Vincent, D-Inglewood, said his bill would protect jobs
and allow people the freedom to smoke and drink without suffering criminal
penalties.

But critics said the health of employees and customers was being
disregarded and noted that most people oppose smoking.

Critics also said the bill was crafted to allow the suspension to continue
for years because federal regulations were still uncertain.

But Vincent said the federal rules likely would be expedited, and ``once
this standard is adopted, clubs would be required to adhere to the standard
. . . and people could not smoke.''

VICTORY FOR TOBACCO

Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said the Vincent bill
represented a victory for tobacco interests and bar owners, who said the
no-smoking law was crippling their business.

``The tavern owners and bar owners -- their entire testimony has nothing to
do with the health of their employees, it has nothing to do with the health
of their customers,'' Kuehl said. The Assembly vote came a day after a
group of Northern California bar owners met in Sacramento to plan a
strategy for overturning the ban.

In some areas, there has been open defiance of the month-old law. But in
other locales, authorities have raided bars to enforce the ban.

Bar owners who allow smoking can be fined up to $100 for the first offense,
$200 for the second violation within a year and up to $500 for any
subsequent violations. Customers also face fines.

NOT A DONE DEAL

The future of Vincent's bill in the Senate is uncertain, but a floor vote
in the upper house is not expected for weeks -- if the bill survives
several committees.

Exempt from California's current ban are patios and other outdoor areas,
bars and casinos on American Indian reservations and small ``mom-and-pop''
businesses.

Three years ago, California banned smoking in indoor workplaces, including
the non-bar areas of restaurants. Taverns and casinos were exempt initially
on the assumption that the state or federal government would come up with
ventilation standards that would reduce smoke to safe levels.

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle