Posted on 02/05/2007 3:52:04 AM PST by SheLion
Three county commissioners say they might vote against a Lenawee County Health regulation to ban smoking in the workplace.
ADRIAN — A Lenawee County health regulation to ban smoking in the workplace may not be a done deal.
An agreement on smoking ban details was hammered out earlier this month between a committee from the Lenawee County Commission and health department representatives. Three of the county commission’s nine members said Thursday night, however, they might vote against the new proposal because of continuing disagreement on some issues.
“I’m feeling a little bit railroaded here,” said Rob Hall, R-Hudson, who was not involved in talks with the health department. “I thought the subcommittee was going to get together, discuss it and come back with something we could all agree with.”
The committee was appointed in December to work out draft language on a smoking ban in response to 60-percent voter support for a ballot question in the Nov. 7 election for the commission to consider a ban.
Hall said his main objection is excluding workers in restaurants and food service facilities from what is supposed to be a regulation to protect people from secondhand smoke in their workplace. How business- and government-owned vehicles would be covered is also a concern, he said.
Jack Branch, R-Onsted, said he is still personally opposed to the idea of county government banning smoking in private workplaces despite the results of the Nov. 7 election.
“I just don’t think it’s our job to tell businesses they can’t smoke on their premises. That’s just how I feel,” Branch said.
Richard Bailey, R-Adrian, said he is a proponent of a smoking ban but is uncertain how he will vote on the draft regulation. Bailey said he is concerned the regulation may be too complicated and subject to abuse by disgruntled employees, customers or opponents of particular industries.
Lenawee County Health Officer Michael Kight said Friday that commissioners are still welcome to bring questions and objections to his agency before the regulation is presented for a vote.
“We don’t want to be in conflict with the commission on this,” Kight said.
Kight said he shares Hall’s concern about not giving protection to restaurant, bar and food service workers.
“We’re prevented from doing so by state law,” Kight said. “Unless there is some initiative to change the state law we don’t have the authority,” he said.
Kight said he believes changes made this month in the draft regulation make it clear vehicles would not be covered by the smoking ban while only one person is inside them. The regulation would cover enclosed farm vehicles, he said, but only when more than one person is inside a tractor cab, truck or other enclosed vehicle.
Concerns about enforcement have often been mentioned since the smoking ban was first proposed more than two years ago, Kight said. Only two or three enforcement actions have been reported in the other Michigan counties and cities that have so far adopted similar workplace smoking rules covering nearly a third of the state’s population, Kight said.
“Why would Lenawee County be any different from anywhere else in the state?” he asked.
The regulation names the health department as the enforcing agency, he said. Rather than taking an aggressive approach of inspection and policing, he said, the health department plans to respond to violation complaints with educational efforts. The health department rarely goes to court over other regulations it enforces, he said. “Ninety percent of complaints are resolved before they get that far,” he said.
For cases that do go to court there would be no fine for first offenses. Fines were cut in half in the new draft to allow a $50 penalty for second offenses, $250 for third offenses and $500 for each additional violation within a one-year period.
A public hearing on the new draft regulation is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Lenawee County Courthouse. The regulation would then go to the county health board on Feb. 21 for a decision on referring it to the commission.
Will the last person out of Michigan please turn out the lights. This state is turning into another Taxachusetts.
PC police everywhere.
The anti-smoking Nazis are trying this end-around tactic in my county.
Once all the lawsuits are settled shooting down this fascist garbage, I expect my property taxes to double or triple to cover the punitive judgments coming out of the courts.
We just happen to have one of the most unwavering, resolute private property rights groups in the country - the Michigan Supreme Court.
The court vigorously shot down Poletown (Michigan's version of Kelo) and made it known in its ruling that it will not support any law or regulation messing with individual property rights.
What I'm concened about now is finding a way to make the county commissioners personally liable for any judgments, so paying damages will not come out of property owners' pockets.
These politicians running Michigan are certifiable fools.
Agreed. It's mostly about PC thugery. Some want a nanny state in Michigan. The reelction of Granholm was a disaster.
Notice how all the bad economic news was held back by the media until after the election?
You don't have to be very conspiracy minded here to notice how the press is in the pocket of the Democrats.
Thanks for the ping!
Guess I'll have to cross Lenawee county off of "my possible places to go on vacation" list.
Sad !
Here you go!
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