[Southsider2k12]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20...1/-1/googleNews

Tax dollars may exempt casinos
Lawmakers weigh expansion of smoking ban.

By KEVIN ALLEN
Tribune Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS — Some Indiana lawmakers are pursuing a statewide public smoking ban again this year, but it appears they will have to make an exception at least for casinos if the measure is going to win the votes of a budget-minded legislature.

The House Committee on Public Health heard testimony for two hours Wednesday from advocates and opponents of House Bill 1018, which seeks to ban smoking in all public places in Indiana.

Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, is sponsoring the legislation for the fourth straight year. The Democrat-controlled House has approved the ban with numerous exemptions in previous years, but the measure always died in the Republican-held Senate.

Republicans have majorities in both chambers this year, but that hasn't dampened Brown's hope for its passage. Also, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has said he will sign a smoking ban if legislators approve it.

"The old saying is 'Third time's the charm,' but we passed this for the third time last year," Brown said. "So, hopefully, the fourth time will be the charm."

More than a dozen people spoke at the committee hearing Wednesday, but input from the nonpartisan Indiana Legislative Services Agency might prove to be the biggest factor in the bill's fate. The LSA estimates that state government will lose as much as $190 million per year in gambling taxes if people can't smoke in casinos.

Representatives from Boyd Gaming Corp., which operates Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, and the Casino Association of Indiana lobbied against the ban, asking that casinos as well as their attached amenities, such as hotels and restaurants, be exempted.

Ryan Soultz, director of government affairs for Boyd's central region, added that an Indiana smoking ban would put Blue Chip at a significant disadvantage compared with Four Winds Casino, which is less than 10 miles away in New Buffalo and, because it is owned and operated by a Native American tribe, is not subject to Michigan's smoking ban.

Don Marquardt, president of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association, said restaurants and bars should be exempted from the ban because many of them also will lose revenue if patrons aren't allowed to smoke.

Several health advocates urged the committee to support a comprehensive ban for the sake of workers and customers who do not want to be exposed to secondhand smoke. Karena Walker recounted how she had to quit her casino job in Lawrenceburg because the cigarette smoke there was ruining her health.

Mike Ripley, vice president for health care policy at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said the business group favors a ban because it will lower health care costs in the state.

Elkhart City Councilman Ronald Troyer testified that Indiana's patchwork of local smoking bans is confusing, especially for travelers, and the state would be better off adopting a uniform law.

After the hearing, the committee's chairman, Rep. Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said casinos will need to be exempted from the ban for it to move forward. He said he wasn't sure if restaurants and bars would be added as exempt.

[Tim]

Second-hand smoke is poison that has proved to be a killer.

How is this even an argument?

[Southsider2k12]

I hope it is just the wording of the article, but I don't like our local representative admitting he is scared of the Casino.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/3037106,ngas...tb-0125.article

Brown: Smoking ban changes 'unacceptable'
Comments

January 25, 2011
BY JON SEIDEL, (219) 648-3068

INDIANAPOLIS -- Bars and taverns would be exempt from Indiana's proposed smoking ban under changes made Monday at the Statehouse, as well as nursing homes and veterans' private clubs.

Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, called the amendments "unacceptable." His smoking ban cleared another hurdle, though. It faces a final vote in the House before it goes to the Senate.

The bill, which would prohibit smoking in all public places, already exempted casino gambling facilities around the state. That was added last week after a fiscal analysis found a smoking ban would cost casinos money, and therefore cut off as much as $187 million in gambling taxes from Indiana next year.

The state's powerful casino lobby also opposes the ban.

Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said the casino exemption forced him to support one for bars and taverns. They compete in his hometown with Blue Chip Casino.

"If we're going to do it for the big guys because we're scared of them and we need the revenue," Pelath said, "then we have to do it for some of these folks who run businesses."

The bar and tavern exemption passed in a 56-33 roll call vote. Region lawmakers voting against it included Democrats Brown, Rep. Mara Candelaria-Reardon of Munster, Rep. Chet Dobis of Merrillville, Rep. Earl Harris of East Chicago, Rep. Vernon Smith of Gary, Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh of Crown Point and Republican Rep. Ed Soliday of Valparaiso.

The exemptions for private veterans clubs and nursing homes passed in voice votes.

Brown said afterward he expects the bill will continue to evolve, but he's eager to see it considered by the Senate.

Sen. President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, has said he'll allow it a committee hearing. Gov. Mitch Daniels has also said he'll sign it if it reaches his desk.

[Tim]

I hope it is just the wording of the article, but I don't like our local representative admitting he is scared of the Casino.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/3037106,ngas...tb-0125.article

So, basically we'll ban smoking in all public places except those we make money from.

Why even bother?

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20...9/-1/googleNews

Smoking ban passes Indiana House
Advocates hope Senate removes exemptions.

By KEVIN ALLEN
Tribune Staff Writer

INDIANAPOLIS - Rep. Charlie Brown brought more than words to work Monday as he pitched his proposal for a statewide public smoking ban in Indiana.

He also used some props.

Brown, D-Gary, strode to the podium in the House of Representatives, smoking a battery-powered “e-cigarette” and sparking some laughter in the chamber.

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“This is to catch everyone’s attention,” he explained.

He also was wearing a heart-shaped pin on his left lapel - a piece of flair he wears every day on the House floor. It has a crack in it and a statement: “This heart is broken from smoking.”

Brown’s theater probably didn’t make much of a difference in how lawmakers voted on his House Bill 1018, but it didn’t hurt either. The measure passed, 68-31, making it eligible for a hearing in the Senate.

Brown urged his colleagues to protect people from being exposed to smoke while they’re at work.

He also challenged the argument that businesses will lose revenue if customers aren’t allowed to smoke. Only one in four Indiana residents is a smoker, he said, so “basic math” would indicate that business would improve under a smoking ban.

Rep. Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, was one of the “no” votes Monday.

He said he doesn’t smoke and doesn’t like being around it, but he doesn’t think this is an area where the state should get more involved.

“What we need to do is protect business ...” Dermody said after the vote. “If you leave it to business and business owners, we’ll make the right decision, but we can’t get into the liberties of individual people and the choices they make.”

H.B. 1018 would outlaw smoking in all public places in the state except for casinos and other gambling facilities, bars that admit only those who are at least 21 years old, veterans halls and fraternal clubs, and nursing homes.

Brown introduced the bill as a comprehensive ban, but representatives added the exemptions. Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus, said he would like to see senators make the bill comprehensive again.

“I’ve been told not to say this on the floor,” Smith said on the House floor, “but we’re going to hopefully rely on the Senate to remove some of the exemptions, so we can have a true smoking ban in the state of Indiana.”

Among representatives from north-central Indiana, House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, and Reps. Nancy Dembowski, D-Knox; Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend; Craig Fry, D-Mishawaka; Tim Neese, R-Elkhart; David Niezgodski, D-South Bend; and Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, voted in favor of the smoking ban. Reps. Wes Culver, R-Goshen; Bill Friend, R-Macy; Tim Wesco, R-Osceola; and David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, joined Dermody in voting against it.

[Tim]

“What we need to do is protect business ...” Dermody said after the vote. “If you leave it to business and business owners, we’ll make the right decision, but we can’t get into the liberties of individual people and the choices they make.”

Bullshit.

Typical political babble. So someone makes an "individual choice" to steal a car - cool?

Do these clown even realize the stupidity of what they say?