In November, voters will choose whether to implement Initiative 901, which would ban smoking in and around public places, often with a barrier of 25 feet between a public place and a designated smoking zone. Initiative 901 would add several types of private establishments to the list of places where it is illegal to smoke.
Initiative 901 would ban smoking in, “bars, taverns, bowling alleys, skating rinks, reception areas, and no less than seventy-five percent of the sleeping quarters within a hotel or motel that are rented to guests.” Since 1985, restaurants that allowed smoking could only do so because of an exemption in state law. I-901 would revoke this exemption thereby making all restaurants part of the public places where smoking is banned.
The initiative would also include a “reasonable minimum distance…of twenty-five feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area…” Initiative backers say the 25-foot rule is needed because of concerns over second-hand smoke exposure.
Read the full Policy Note here