Smoking ban in place at last

The vote is 18-9. Proposal 45 passes.” Those words from City-County Council President Steve Talley closed six months of debate, 14 meetings and hundreds of public comments on both sides. After all that, Indianapolis now has a smoking ban in place.

City-County Councilor Angela Mansfield, a sponsor of the smoking ban, alon with 1,300 signatures backing the proposal.

The final version of Proposal 45 was only changed slightly from the draft that was sent back to committee by the full council last month. The ban will take effect in March of 2006 and will include all indoor public places.

Bars, bowling alleys and taverns will be exempt from this ban, if they meet these criteria: They must hold an alcohol retailer permit, allow no customer under the age of 18 at any time, employ nobody under the age of 18, not be physically located within a business otherwise required to be smoke-free, not be a restaurant that primarily sells foods and have sent notice to the Department of Health of their intent to be a smoking establishment. Also exempt would be retail tobacco stores and not-for-profit private clubs as defined by state law.

The only significant changes are bringing the minimum age of customers to 18 from 21, and striking the requirement that exempted bars “not be a restaurant that primarily serves food.”

These changes caused several crucial votes to flip in favor of the proposal.

“We only had to nip and tweak a couple of small things to get the support this needed,” said Angela Mansfield, chair of the Children’s Health and Environment Committee and one of the sponsors of the bill.

People who light up in banned areas — or businesses who allow smoking when they shouldn’t — will face $100 fines.

During debate, Councilor Marilyn Pfisterer questioned the enforceability of the act. “Do we really want police officers to be off the streets where they’re investigating crime … and enforcing the smoking ban? Is that where we want our law enforcement resources? We have a piece of paper with good intentions that doesn’t really protect children.”

Supporters of the bill responded that enforcement will be the responsibility of all city-county offices that conduct building inspections, and that citizen complaints will also drive enforcement.

“This is the proposal the community wants; this is what the community has worked for,” Mansfield said. “Everyone has stepped up and been a part of the process. By passing this proposal we’re giving the community what they’ve asked for, and showing that Indianapolis is one of the first-class cities in the United States that recognized the health of its citizens.”