Today the Saint Paul City Council responded to Mayor Kelly's request for a modification in the tobacco ordinance by passing an ordinance which is nearly identical to the one passed in Minneapolis, less restrictive but quite similar to the one passed in Bloomington and nearly identical to the one being considered by Hennepin County. (Ramsey County is considering, at least as a first step, an ordinance which bans smoking only in restaurants and facilities which serve less than 50% of total sales in alcohol. In Ramsey County that would mean facilities in Roseville, Shoreview and White Bear Township would all be smoke free because they only issue liquor licenses to establishments with more than 50% food sales.)
Below are excerpts from the Kelly veto message and the council response. �I am vetoing Council Files 04-520 and 04-627. I want to stress that this veto is based on the flaws in the 4-3 Council proposal ..." 1) �The 4-3 proposal from our City Council is both more restrictive and more dangerous than smoking restrictions enacted by other local governments in Minnesota� PROBLEM SOLVED: The ordinance is nearly identical to the one , Minneapolis and the one under consideration in Hennepin County and somewhat less restrictive than Bloomington's. 2) �The smoking room approach proposed by the 4-3 vote of our City Council only worsens the health of people in our society who are addicted to nicotine...� PROBLEM SOLVED: The new version of the ordinance does not include smoking rooms so it protects all people. 3) �A regional approach will both increase the public health benefits and decrease the economic dislocation that occurs when a single jurisdiction unilaterally regulates commerce on its own." PROBLEM SOLVED: Thanks to the courageous Hennepin County cities and County elected officials, we do have a regional approach. Mayor Kelly can choose to be part of that region. Further, he told Hennepin County Commissioner Dorfman that if Minneapolis passed the total ban, he would sign a similar ordinance into law in Saint Paul. Now is to find out if he is a man of his word. Jeanne Weigum living and breathing in Merriam Park and way eager to be able to go to music venues after they go smoke free. -- Jeanne Weigum 651-646-3005 fax 651-646-0142 _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
