State Update Page 4
Bars cleared of some smoking ban charges
Judge says owners can be cited only once a day August 21, 2007
By DENNIS HUSPENI, THE GAZETTE A judge Monday tossed out most of the charges against three bar owners cited for defying the state’s smoking ban by allowing customers to light up. El Paso County Court Judge Karla Hansen dismissed 19 of 23 misdemeanor counts against Bruce Hicks, owner of Murray Street Darts in Colorado Springs. She also dismissed all but three charges apiece against bar owners Jeffrey Eickman and Gary Bishop. Hansen did not rule on the legality of the ban. But she noted that under Colorado’s Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibited smoking in bars effective July 2006, bar owners could be cited for one violation per day. A conviction carries a maximum $200 fine. Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors had questioned, according to court documents, if that interpretation gave a bar owner license to break the law for the rest of the day once they’d been cited for a violation. They argued the intent of the law was to “improve the health, comfort and environment” of bars for patrons and employees, and enforcing it requires being able to issue a citation for each smoker lighting up. District attorney spokeswoman Denise Minish said prosecutors have not decided whether to appeal Hansen’s ruling. Colorado Springs police issued citations after Hicks and other bar owners who said the ban had cost them business announced they intended to openly defy it. Hicks’ attorney James Dodd said after the ruling Monday that prosecutors and police “overcharged” in the cases. “What happened today is just the first step in the process to get this case where it needs to be,” said Dodd, who plans to attack the constitutionality of the law at trial. He also claimed police targeted Hicks because he was the most vocal about defying the law. The last ruling on the controversial law was overturned last week when a district court judge in Adams County ruled the law constitutional. Read
Bar Continues to Fight Smoking Ban Jul 19, 2007 Reporter: Ashley Fielder, afielder@kktv11news.com Smokers have been lighting up at Murry Street Darts since the ban took effect, and owner, Bruce Hicks says they will continue to do so. “They can put me out of business, or I can fight it, I can fight it and stay in business,” said Hicks. Hicks received 22 smoking citations back in March. Wednesday night cops stormed his bar once again, citing not only him, but a customer also. “I was nervous, the way they approached me, it was very upsetting,” said Ackerman. Diane Ackerman says she was not even smoking at the time of the raid, and plans to fight the ticket in court. Police say it's a difficult law to enforce. “At some point in time it just has to go to the courts, and then we’ll see what happens,” said Lt. Skip Arms, Colorado Springs Police Department. Which is just what Bruce and two other bar owners will do Monday, bring their case in front of a judge. “I would rather lose in court than have the state come in here and tell me I can't smoke in my bar.” Read
Smoking Ban May 1, 2007 The Senate Tuesday killed a bill that would have outlawed some cigar bars after opponents said it went too far trying to regulate businesses. Some lawmakers had introduced the bill because they feared traditional bars were calling themselves cigar bars to take advantage of an exemption in the statewide smoking ban. Current law exempts casinos, cigar bars and the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport from the smoking ban. The bill didn't have enough support to pass. ReadPut money on casino smoke ban House OKs bill; Ritter expected to sign By ED SEALOVER, THE GAZETTE April 28, 2007 DENVER - Throw down the baby’s meal money and order another shot of whiskey — but whatever you do, don’t light up that cigarette at the poker table. Beginning Jan. 1, Colorado’s casinos likely will be home to one less vice. The House voted Thursday to ban smoking in casinos beginning at 8 a.m. on the first day of 2008, joining the Senate in a compromise between the July 1, 2007, snuff-out date proposed by the House and the July 1, 2008, deadline recommended by the upper chamber. HB1269 now heads to Gov. Bill Ritter, who is still considering what to do, according to his spokesman, Evan Dreyer. ReadSmoke ban inspires 'who's on 1st' routine' Bill Johnson April 28, 2007 The legislature's quest to outlaw smoking in Colorado fascinates mostly because of the sheer inequality involved. Then there's the stumblings and fumblings by elected leaders trying to salvage last year's poorly written, special interest-protecting law, and, finally, the quite avoidable human and economic toll the folly has exacted. Read Compromise may lead to smoking ban in casinos By ED SEALOVER THE GAZETTE April 21, 2007 DENVER - A group of legislators Friday reached agreement on a date to end smoking in casinos, but clean-air advocates said the battle to snuff out cigarettes and cigars in more places has just begun. Read
Local bars applaud smoking ban ruling
4/14/07
A group of local bar owners are finding hope in a ruling by an Adams County Judge last week that the statewide smoking ban is unconstitutional. Judge Robert Doyle ruled on April 5 that the law is unconstitutional primarily because it denies due process because it does not provide an opportunity for bars to establish themselves as "tobacco bars" before the effective date of the law. Tobacco bars are protected under the ban.
Additionally, Doyle found the statute denies equal protection by treating casinos and airports differently than common everyday bars. Smoking is allowed in a special smoking lounge at Denver International Airport. The Adams County district attorney is appealing the ruling. At Murray Street Darts in Colorado Springs, the ruling is good news. Murray Street Darts is one of three local bars who are openly defying the smoking ban by not preventing customers from lighting up. "Its a definite positive for us," says owner Bruce Hicks. "We figured a judge would find it unconstitutional and we are pushing it here to get another judge to find it unconstitutional here." In the last month Hicks and the other bar owners have racked up over 40 tickets. They hope that by fighting the tickets in court, a judge here will rule in their in their favor the way that Doyle did in Adams County. Regardless of the Adams County ruling, Deputy District Attorney Denise Minish says the bars are still breaking the law. "Until the supreme court says that the law is unconstitutional, our office, as prosecutors, we have the ethical obligation to enforce the laws as they are currently written," Minish says. The bar owners are scheduled to make their first court appearance regarding the smoking tickets on April 20. News First contacted their attorney by phone and he said they plan to waive their first appearance in favor of a pre-trial conference some time in June. Read
Judge's smoking ban snub Adams ruling calls state law unconstitutional By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News April 12, 2007 Correction: This story should have said that Adams County Judge Robert S. Doyle declared the state's smoking ban unconstitutional for two reasons. First, he found that the law denied due process because it allowed smoking in "tobacco bars" and not other establishments without providing any opportunity for a bar to establish itself as a tobacco bar before the effective date of the act, and by not allowing any process by which a new bar could become a tobacco bar. Second, Judge Doyle found that it denied equal protection because he could find no rational basis for treating casinos and airport bars differently than other bars. Also, the story should have said that the matter came to the court because the Adams County sheriff issued a summons to the Oasis Bar for allowing smoking. An Adams County District Court judge has declared the state's smoking ban unconstitutional, leaving some bar owners celebrating and the legislation's sponsor perplexed. Adams County District Attorney Don Quick says he plans to appeal the ruling issued last week by Judge Robert Doyle. The judge said the ban is unconstitutional because it provides an exemption for cigar bars, Quick said. It's unclear what the Adams County ruling, the third on the ban since it went into effect July 1, means in terms of enforcing the statewide ban, he said. A federal judge ruled last year that the legislature had every right to say where smoking could be banned and allowed. But a Durango judge last year ruled that a bar owner was exempt from the ban because he sold enough tobacco products to qualify for an exemption. The clashing rulings may force the Colorado Supreme Court to weigh in, Quick said. The latest ruling puzzled House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, who sponsored the Colorado Indoor Clean Air Act. "The exemption for cigar bars isn't just for people smoking cigars," he said. "You had to be in the business of selling tobacco." Bar owners, meanwhile, are "ecstatic," said Bonnie Ferguson of the Coalition for Equal Rights, a group of bar owners formed to challenge the smoking ban. "There are quite a few bars that have gotten tickets (for allowing smoking), and they're going to stand up and really start fighting it," she said. The Adams County ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the Oasis Cabaret, 1400 W. 62nd Ave., which argued that the smoking ban was unfair and has caused nearly 30 bars to go out of business. Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, introduced a bill Wednesday to snuff out the cigar bar exemption. It would leave Denver International Airport's smoking lounges as the only public place in Colorado where smokers could light up. Staff writers Lynn Bartels and Alan Gathright contributed to this report. Read
Adams Co. Judge Rules Smoking Ban Unconstitutional
April 12, 2007
Arturo Santiago
(CBS4/AP) BRIGHTON, Colo. The status of the statewide smoking ban is unclear after an Adams County district judge declared the law unconstitutional. One legal expert told CBS4 the ruling applies only in Adams County, although other courts can use it as guidance.
District Judge Robert Doyle said the ban is unconstitutional because it exempts cigar bars. Attorneys for the Oasis bar in Adams County challenged the law in court after the business was cited for allowing people smoke inside.
"There's really no reason to make a differentiation between a smoking bar, a regular bar, a smoking lounge and cigar bars," said Michael Martin, the lawyer for Oasis.
Adams County District Attorney Don Quick plans to appeal the ruling. Quick said the Colorado Supreme Court may have to weigh in because of this ruling and others.
Last year, a federal judge said the Legislature had the right to decide where smoking could be prohibited. But a judge in Durango ruled that a bar owner was exempt from the law because he sold enough tobacco products to qualify for an exemption.
Democratic state Sen. Betty Boyd of Lakewood introduced a bill Wednesday to eliminate the cigar bar exemption. That would leave Denver International Airport's smoking lounges as the only public place in Colorado where smoking is allowed. Read and Watch The Video
Senate approves casino smoking ban 3/26/07 DENVER (AP) - The state Senate has approved a bill that would expand the state's new smoking ban to casinos, after amending the measure to give casinos a year to put it into effect. Lawmakers say Governor Bill Ritter is counting on casino revenue to pay for renewable energy projects. Casino operators estimate that their revenue could drop up to 30 percent because gamblers won't stay as long as they do now if they have to step outside for a smoke. House Bill 1269 now goes back to the House for consideration of amendments. Casinos were exempted from last year's voter-approved statewide smoking ban, which included bars and restaurants. Colorado has allowed limited-stakes gambling in the historic mining towns of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek and Central City since 1991. Read
Casino smoking ban gets snuffed By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News March 16, 2007
A bill to ban smoking in casinos went up in smoke today. The measure was tossed on its head when the Senate voted 18-17 to amend the measure, requiring casinos to go smoke free when cigar bars and the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport join the crowd of workplaces where smoking is banned. Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, won his bid to alter the face of the bill, arguing the new statewide smoking ban should extend to every workplace and should not be allowed to carve out "winners or losers." "We have invented the system regarding the smoking ban of have and have-nots," Hagedorn said. "Let’s not have winners or losers in this discussion and perhaps what I’ve done will provide leverage to move for an across the board ban." The measures’ backers cried foul and vowed to fight to strip the "poison-pill" they say effectively guts House Bill 1269, which extends the statewide smoking enacted in July to casinos. The Senate is expected to cast its final vote on the measure next week. Denver Democrats Sen. Ken Gordon and Rep. Anne McGihon counted on at least 20 senators to back the bill. They argued that casino employees deserve the same protection from second-hand that workers receive in restaurants and bars and most workplaces. Four Democrats joined Republicans to amend the measure, with Sen. Able Tapia, D-Pueblo, emerging as the deciding vote. "This is about 8,000 casino employees and their health," McGihon said, visibly stunned. "It’s about the cost to the state in employees lost work time and in health care bills when those 8,000 employees get all the diseases related to second-hand smoke." But some Democratic and Republican lawmakers blasted the measure, saying it infringes on gamblers' personal freedoms to light up and that it would cost the state at least $15 million in gaming tax revenue. Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, an ardent opponent of the smoking ban, argued that gamblers who want to smoke while playing the slots will simply hop on a plane to Las Vegas to spend their money. A Senate committee snuffed a measure by Tochtrop this year that would have lifted the ban on neighborhood bars by allowing them to pay more for a liquor license to opt out of the smoking ban. "What's good for cigar bars is good for casinos," Tochtrop said. ReadSprings Bar Owner Wants More Bars To Join Protest 3/14/07 (CBS4) DENVER A group of Colorado Springs bar owners hope Denver bars will join their protest against the state smoking ban. The group said business has dropped sharply due to the smoking ban and they're looking for ways to beat it. Bruce Hicks, who is promoting the civil disobedience, met with Denver area bar owners Wednesday. Read AND Watch The VideoSenate Panel Backs Casino Smoking Ban 3/12/07 Arturo Santiago Reporting (AP) DENVER Expanding the state's new smoking ban to casinos passed its first test in the Senate Monday despite concerns from some casino workers that they could lose their jobs if gamblers can't light up while they play. Read AND Watch The Video Colorado smoking ban bill moves forwardCasino City Times - Newton Center,MA,USA
DENVER, Colorado ? As reported by the Colorado Gazette: "Casino operators and workers opposed to a smoking ban in their businesses asked a Senate committee ...
Senate panel backs casino smoking banLongmont Daily Times-Call - Longmont,CO,USA
DENVER ? Expanding the state?s new smoking ban to casinos passed its first test in the Senate on Monday despite concerns from some casino workers that they ...
Crackdown on bars ignoring smoking banKOAA - Pueblo,CO,USA
Open defiance of Colorado's smoking ban by bars in Colorado Springs, as an act of civil disobedience, forced the hand of police and code enforcement ...Some Bar Owners Defy Colorado Smoking Ban 3/8/07 By Rick Sallinger Some bar owners in Colorado have started encouraging customers to defy the state's smoking ban because they believe it is illegal. A group in Colorado Springs plans to meet with bar owners in Denver next week. Read AND Watch The VideoSome Bar Owners Defy Colorado Smoking Ban 3/5/07 Karlyn Tilley, Reporting (CBS4) DENVER Some bar owners in Colorado have started encouraging customers to defy the state's smoking ban because they believe it is illegal. Read AND Watch The VideoA smoke-in idea Protest highlights fight for rights 3/5/07 It’s not civil disobedience on the level of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sitting in the Birmingham jail, but some local tavern owners are standing up against the indoor smoking ban that took effect last year in Colorado. Like King, however, they are fighting to have their rights recognized and respected. Thursday’s Gazette reported on the protest by several bar owners who say their businesses have suffered since smokers were sent outside. They plan to allow smoking in their establishments and collect $1 from smokers to offset the fines and expenses they expect to incur. Read
Bars rebel against smoking ban March 1, 2007
By ANTHONY LANE THE GAZETTE Several Colorado Springs bar owners are rebelling against the statewide smoking ban, inviting their customers to openly defy what they call an “illegal law." Bruce Hicks, owner of Murray Street Darts, met with nearly two dozen other bar owners and managers Wednesday, encouraging them to join a “civil disobedience” protest that calls for businesses to collect $1 from each smoker for a “get out of jail fund." The businesses will go to court to fight tickets they are issued for violating the smoking ban and use the fund to pay fines, Hicks said. The fines are $200 for a first offense, $300 for a second and $500 for any others written within a year. The eight-month-old smoking ban has cost him 25 percent of his business since it went into effect, Hicks said. He began allowing smoking in the bar three weeks ago, he said, which has “brought back my 25 percent.” Hicks said eight businesses had agreed to join the rebellion last week. Owners of three — the Adam’s Apple Lounge on Austin Bluffs Parkway, DJ’s Bar and Grill on East Fillmore Street, and Hicks’ bar on Murray Boulevard — confirmed their involvement to The Gazette. Hicks said if business owners vig- orously fight the tickets in court, prosecuting the cases will be more of a burden than the fines. “It’s going to take the state of Colorado $6,000 to collect $200,” Hicks said. “How long do you think the public will allow that?” Colorado Springs police are investigating two businesses suspected of openly violating the ban, according to spokesman Lt. Rafael Cintron. He would not say if the businesses are among the bars vowing to defy the ban, but said the department will take “enforcement action” against any business found to be in violation. “As we become aware of those places, we are going to investigate,” Cintron said. When it went into effect July 1, the ban made it illegal to smoke in any indoor public place except casinos, the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport, cigar/hookah bars, tobacco shops and businesses not open to the public that have three or fewer employees. The only bar in Colorado Springs that has qualified for the exemption is longtime downtown cigar bar 15C in an alley off Bijou Street. The Legislature is considering a bill, approved Wednesday by the House, that would eliminate casinos’ exemption. One local bar, the Dead Ant Tavern on Montebello Drive, has shown its opposition to the ban even before it went into effect by hanging a sign outside reading, “My business, my customers, our choice!” Although the ban has cost him 20 percent to 30 percent of his business, owner Neil Hager said, he isn’t planning to join those defying it. “I would join them if I thought it would do any good,” Hager said. Rep. Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, a supporter of the ban, called the protest “pretty much useless.” “Civil disobedience has been used for much greater causes,” he said Wednesday. Business owners who have lost business because of the smoking ban “should look at ways to appeal to nonsmokers.” During the meeting at Joe’s Bar with the other bar owners and managers, Hicks said the idea of a protest came to him when his wife told him that for the second time in a month, they could not afford to pay themselves a salary. “That morning, I said, ‘Something’s got to be done,’” he said. Hicks said he is aware of only one ticket written at a business participating in the protest. Charlene Runyan, owner of Joe’s Bar, said one of her bartenders received a ticket Friday because a customer was smoking inside the bar. Customers were allowed to smoke that night, she said, but she doesn’t plan on defying the law along with Hicks. “It’s been very, very devastating for all of us,” Runyan said of the ban. Linda Picarillo, co-owner of the Adam’s Apple Lounge, said she let customers smoke last week. Since then, she said, business has picked up. “People are sitting in here and they are staying,” Picarillo said. She called the law inconsistent, particularly with the exemption for casinos. “If it’s a health issue, why aren’t they protecting them?” Picarillo asked. ReadSmoking-ban citations not enough to deter bar owners Colorado Springs Gazette - Colorado Springs,CO,USA Although there were no ashtrays in sight, a man at the bar was smoking — a signal that two citations for violating the statewide smoking ban, ... Read Smoking Ban Expansion Heads For State Senate cbs4denver.com - Denver,CO,USA (AP) DENVER The House on Wednesday approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would extend the statewide smoking ban to casinos, responding to complaints ... ReadSmoking ban passes first test in House Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA DENVER- The House on Wednesday approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would extend the statewide smoking ban to casinos, responding to complaints from ... ReadColorado House approves casino smoking ban Rocky Mountain News - Denver,CO,USA A bill that would extend a statewide smoking ban to casinos cleared the Colorado House of Representatives Wednesday. The House passed the legislation by a ... Read
Panel nixes bill to exempt taverns from smoking ban February 13, 2007
By April M. Washington and Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News Smoking would be allowed in nursing homes but not in mom- and-pop bars, under two bills that met opposite fates Monday. A measure permitting designated smoking areas in nursing homes was passed unanimously by the House Health and Human Services Committee. But in the Senate, a bid to lift the state smoking ban in taverns was killed, despite three hours of emotional testimony from more than 30 bar owners, many of whom cried foul over the vote to exempt nursing homes. "I don't understand the logic of all of this," said Bruce McCaughey, owner of Oasis Lounge in Littleton. He and others blasted lawmakers for "cherry-picking" who would be subject to the smoking ban and contended neighborhood taverns should be treated the same as casinos, which already are exempt, and now possibly nursing homes. The measure introduced by Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, would have given watering holes the option of paying an extra $500 for a special liquor license to allow for smoking. Tochtrop decried the snuffing of her bill, saying the issue is one of fairness and basic economics. "The Indoor Clean Air Act has not decreased smoking," she said. "It's just putting people out of business. Opponents, however, argued that the controversial measure would create a gaping loophole in the act that went into effect July 1 banning smoking in most workplaces, restaurants, bars, bingo halls and private clubs. The ban exempts casinos, cigar bars and smoking lounges at Denver International Airport. The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee voted 3-2 to kill Senate Bill 103, with Democrats arguing it's a matter of public health and safety. "The bill we passed last year is uneven," acknowledged Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver. "But we need to spend our time bringing establishments into the act rather than exempting them." SB 103 was among two smoking measures considered Monday. House Bill 1196 would allow residents of assisted-living and nursing-home facilities to smoke in enclosed, ventilated lounges. The smoking ban's chief architect, House Minority Leader Mike May, said he introduced HB 1196 to fix a glitch in new law, which allowed residents of nursing and assisted-living facilities to smoke in their room because it's considered their home - not a public place. Only later did lawmakers learn that smoking was banned in many nursing home rooms because piped-in oxygen "does cause people to blow up when they light a match," as the committee chairwoman, Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Denver, put it. "Forcing them to go outside where they live was never the intent of the smoking bill," said May, R-Parker. Speaking against lifting the ban in bars were representatives of the American Heart Association, American Lung Association and GASP of Colorado. They contend there is little proof that bars are going under because of the smoking ban. The two dissenting Republicans called the smoking ban flawed. "This really shows the unintended consequences of the bills we run up here," said Sen. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs. "I opposed the smoking ban. As long as tobacco is a legal substance, we have no business of legislating it out of existence." Read
Smoking ban challenged Proposal would allow bars to buy license Barely six months into it, Colorado's statewide smoking ban is facing numerous challenges in the Legislature, including one bill that would allow the return of smoking in bars and restaurants. Senator Lois Tochtrop recently introduced a proposal that would supersede all state and local ordinances that prohibit smoking inside of establishments that are "licensed for the on-premises consumption of alcohol." The bill is being heard in committee today. If passed, beginning Sept. 1, the bill would allow bars and restaurants to purchase a special liquor license for $500 that would allow smoking. Local establishments, which have had more than three years to get used to the citywide smoking ban, have mixed reactions to the proposed legislation, which many people agree has little chance of passing a Democratically-controlled Legislature. In October 2003, Fort Collins enacted its own smoking ban, prohibiting smoking inside most public buildings within the city's limits. Tochtrop's bill would prohibit Colorado cities from denying liquor licensed businesses the right to allow smoking. "Initially we saw some drop off in business," said John Prujillo, owner of Surfside 7 in Old Town. Prujillo said 85 percent of his customers smoke and having to clean up the discarded butts left outside has created unwanted work for him. "At this juncture I don't particularly think (allowing smoking inside) would help business," Prujillo said. "If other people (brought back smoking) I think I would have to. I don't want customers going to other bars to smoke." Willy Owens opened Road 34, a bike shop/bar combination west of the Colorado State University campus after the city's smoking ban went into effect. "Personally I don't think we would buy it (the license). We are not the kind of bar people come to smoke at. We have a patio that more than fulfills peoples' needs." Scott Smith, owner of CooperSmith's Pub & Brewing in Old Town, also was lukewarm to the idea of bringing back indoor smoking. "A year or two ago I would have jumped all over it," said Smith. "We have accepted the fact that we can't have smoking anymore." Local health advocates said allowing smoking again would renew their health concerns for customers and employees. "(Secondhand smoke) is most definitely a health concern for employees especially who may not have a choice," said Darlene Huang, program assistant for Tobacco Free Larimer County. "The only way to protect non-smokers from the dangerous chemicals in cigarettes is to eliminate smoking. "(The bill) would take a huge step back from where we have been in the past." Not all smokers forced outside want a return of smoke-filled bars, either. "At times it is definitely nice to be able to smoke inside," said Carl Swanson of Fort Collins. "But overall, I think it is better if bars don't allow smoking. It makes for a friendlier, cleaner environment and also cuts down on my smoking. "If it passes it's not like I am going to cause a fuss. If it was allowed I would be smoking inside again." Colorado became the 13th state in the nation to ban smoking inside most public establishments July 1 when the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act went into effect. The act provided exceptions, including casinos that opened previous to 2006 and the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport. "If we make this change, the local bars can have smoking if they buy the special license," said Diane Wright, an aide to Sen. Tochtrop. Wright said there are about 40 "mom and pop" bars within Tochtrop's district that have lost business because of the state's ban. Tochtrop, who acknowledges the bill has little chance of passing, said she decided to sponsor the bill because of concerns from business owners in her district. "The casinos are allowed to have smoking because they provide high revenue to the state and provide high level lobbyists. The guy who makes $28,000 has no power," Wright said. Colorado House Rep. Rafael Gallegos, who is co-sponsoring Tochtrop's bill, believes it represents a civil rights and economic growth issue. "For those folks that wish to pay to allow smoking this is a civil rights issue," Gallegos said. "We also need jobs and economic growth is part of my agenda." ReadLawmakers move to include casinos in Colo. smoking ban February 04, 2007 COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER -- State lawmakers are being asked to tighten the state's smoking ban and stop people from lighting up in the state's casinos. ReadBill introduced to ban smoking in casinos February 3, 2007 Joanne Kelley Colorado casinos could lose their exemption from a statewide smoking ban if a bill introduced Friday becomes law. About three dozen lawmakers have already lined up behind the legislation's main sponsors, Rep. Anne McGihon and Sen. Ken Gordon, both Denver Democrats. ReadSelect Local Bars May Get Around Smoking Ban 3 February 2007
Ryan Lowen Many southern Colorado bars are still suffering due to Colorado's seven-month-old smoking ban, but there may be hope on the horizon. Colorado senator Lois Tochtrop is proposing an exemption for locally owned and operated bars, often referred to as ‘mom and pop' bars. They view the proposal as not just a good idea, but a potential saving grace. Senator Lois Tochtrop introduced the bill in hopes of helping small business owners throughout the state. "Its going to be an uphill battle, I will honestly admit it, but we need to put this issue on the table and make people aware that this is an economic issue and it's hurting the economics of the people that are closing businesses down." Curly's Place, a local bar in Calhan, Colorado, could not agree more. Workers say that the smoking ban is threatening to put the bar out of business and without a drastic change, Curly's could be history. Tochtrop's bill would allow smoking inside as long as the bars pay an extra 500 dollars for their liquor license. Which is exactly double the usual amount. Though it seems like a high price, Curly's wouldn't hesitate. "I would be more than willing to do it its a matter of survival," said owner Joann Parris. Another Colorado Senator, Bob Hagedorn disagrees. "My thinking along this is we should be looking more towards banning the smoking in casinos. Moving in that direction then to regress from what we've done." The bill is only in its proposal stages and will take time. However, no matter what happens with the bill, businesses are dying. The Colorado Licensed Beverage Association is saying 60 bars have gone out of business in Denver alone. Joann Parris is hoping Curly's place will avoid that fate. "I think it would be good compromise, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this bill will go through because I'll only be in business another 2-3 months." Read State lawmakers target casino smoking ban exemption 3 February 2007 Two state lawmakers say it's time to revisit the casino exemption in the state's smoking ban. Read Smoking ban debate reignites at Capitol 2/2/2007 Adam Schrager DENVER - Colorado lawmakers will once again debate a number of issues related to the state's indoor smoking ban. Current law prohibits smoking inside the vast majority of restaurants and bars with only cigar bars, the DIA smoking lounge and casinos exempted. Read
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