A bill to make workplaces in Tennessee smoke-free finally crashed out of the House Agriculture Committee today. Despite significant grumbling from tobacco-friendly state representatives the measure was passed with a 12 to 2 vote.
State Health Commissioner Susan Cooper says the members are listening to their constituents on the subject of breathing clean air.
“I believe the General Assembly will do the right thing. I think that the members of this committee listened to their constituents. They heard resoundingly that citizens of this state want strong, smoke-free workplace laws. I believe that they also did what they needed to, to keep the bill moving.”
The bill came out of committee with a patchwork of amendments, such as one for solo truck drivers.
The bill proceeds, with no waiting period, to the House Finance Committee. It could be up for a vote on the House floor tomorrow.
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The bill is HB 1851 Bone/SB 1325 Tracy. The Senate version passed in the upper house last week, 22-5, with an amendment that made it look very like the governor’s original smoke-free workplace bill.
The version that came out of House Agriculture has more limitations. It doesn’t apply to small businesses with three or fewer employees, or places where one must be 21 years old to be admitted.
If the House version is less stringent than the already passed Senate version, and the two houses can’t agree on compromise language, the bill could be thrown into a conference committee.
As a measure of how hard the bill was to get out of House Agriculture – it was deferred nine straight meetings rather than risk a vote.
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