Anti-smoking legislation apparently dead for year

OLYMPIA — Anti-tobacco activists began this legislative session with high hopes of enacting a statewide smoking ban. But any chance of implementing new regulations in the Legislature this year was pretty well snuffed out this week.

Nine bills to restrict or ban smoking in public places failed to win House or Senate approval before Wednesday's cut-off day for legislation. Barring an extraordinary parliamentary maneuver, the issue is dead for the year.

The last chance came when the Senate opted not to vote on SB 5909, a pared-down alternative to a complete smoking ban for public places. It would have required restaurants, bowling alleys and bingo halls that allow smoking to create designated smoking areas and prevent minors from entering them.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, helped push the compromise measure that would have regulated indoor smoking when she sensed the Senate would not pass the complete ban.

"My personal preference is for a total ban, (but) the political reality is I can't get it passed in this house," she said earlier in the week.

Keiser also did not want to count on voters passing Initiative 901, a fall initiative that, if passed, would make Washington public places smoke-free. Despite proponents' optimism about its success, Keiser said that option "is not a slam dunk."

Sen. Bob Oke, R-Port Orchard, said he was relieved SB 5909 didn't come up for a vote, because he was worried passing any compromise legislation could have undercut public support for I-901.

"Let's take care of this in November," said Oke.

Opponents of the smoking ban argued that it would damage many businesses that depend on a large smoker clientele, and they noted that restaurants and casinos on tribal land would not have been affected.

Nick Federicci of the Washington Lung Association said lawmakers were expressing "callous disregard for public health" by not pushing for stricter smoking legislation.

"If this is the best they can do, it's disappointing," he said. While I-901 has more support than it did last year, the initiative still has a long road ahead, he said.

"We're not doing this for the hell of it," he said. "It's our mission to protect public health, and that's what we're so worked up about."

Christina Siderius: 360-236-8169 or csiderius@seattletimes.com