Washington's "Clean Sweep" Legislative Victory Over Special-Interests By Norman E. Kjono March 19, 2005
On
Wednesday March 16, 2005 at 5:01 PM citizens in the State of The failed bills relating to smoking in public places and their sponsors are as follows:
None of the anti-tobacco bills to enact a statewide smoking ban proceeded to a floor vote in either house, nor did a de facto urban area smoking ban to prohibit smoking near building entrances. The Washington Restaurant Association’s attempt to impose unwarranted construction costs to segregate patrons of bars, taverns and casinos who smoke into separate but equal negative air pressure rooms never got out of the House Health committee and stalled in the Senate Rules committee. This is now the fourth year that tobacco control advocate’s attempts to mandate a statewide smoking ban through our state legislature have failed. In addition, two anti-tobacco statewide smoking ban initiatives, I-890 and I-332 failed to gather sufficient signatures in 2004, and a countywide smoking ban enacted by the Tacoma-Pierce County Board of Health that became effective January 2, 2004 was overturned in three consecutive court victories through our state superior, appeals and supreme courts. A new anti-tobacco statewide smoking ban, Initiative to the People 901, was filed by tobacco control advocates in January 2005. That statewide smoking ban would grant an exclusive franchise – a monopoly – to smoking-ban-exempt tribal hospitality venues at the direct and intended expense of nontribal hospitality establishments that would be required to comply with the statewide mandate. I-901 also directly supports a pharmaceutical nicotine distributors written plan to use smoking bans to support replacing cigarettes wit “Smoke Free” nicotine inhalers. I-901 provides “Proud to be smoke free” Washington Restaurant Association members with the “level playing field” protection from competition by restaurants that accommodate patrons who smoke, which they sought through SB 5909 and HB 1670. And I-901 changes current state law that prohibits local city and county governments from enacting smoking ban legislation that is more strict than state law. Finally, I-901 expressly grants to local health district attorneys expanded prosecutorial discretion to independently file their own complaints about alleged smoking ban violations, without review by city or county attorneys. I-901 is, quote simply, the most aggressive expression of anti-tobacco’s fondest wish list for accommodating special-interests at the expense of nontribal hospitality business owners and their employees, local tax districts, and tobacco consumers that we have seen in Washington. Beyond its extreme and stark anti-competitive features I-901 would turn Washington into a county patch-work-orange of conflicting regulations regardless of what state law says, while granting health department lawyers an unfettered right to take legal action at their own unsupervised discretion to implement ordinances they personally support. I-901 is a cumulative grab bag of the worst that this year’s failed legislation in our state legislature had to offer, then adding the prospect of unrestrained county health department attorneys having legal authority to implement their own agendas, to boot. When I-902 fails to gather sufficient signature by July 2005 to qualify for the November general election ballot it will die a richly deserved public demise. There was also a bill filed in the House to impose an additional $1.00 per pack tax cigarettes:
The
demise of HB 2075 raises some interesting facts: according to Washington
Public Disclosure Commission filings one of the bills chief sponsors,
Republican Representative Rodney Tom of The preceding raises to glaringly obvious the transparent realities of allegedly anti-tobacco campaigns: they always have been and always will be about bucks, clout and market share, such campaigns are not and never have been about legitimate public health. Which again raises the troubling question of where does the nicotine in “Smoke Free” patches, gums and inhalers really come from? Are profits on “Smoke Free” nicotine greater than tobacco nicotine? What’s a tanker car of pure nicotine worth, compared to a semi truck load of smokes? How many 4 milligram squares of nicotine gum can be manufactured form one tanker car of pure nicotine? Are there still a few hidden facts behind the current smoking ban mandate frenzy yet to be disclosed? Seven anti-smoking and anti-smoker legislative bills filed, seven legislative bills failed. Plus I-901 heading for the loss column, just like its predecessors I-890 and I-332. To my mind that makes the current score at the bottom of the ninth anti-tobacco and special-interests 0, normal folks 7. We should see a final 2005 game score of 0–8 by July. Resistance is not futile, normal people will not be assimilated. Normal citizens, nontribal hospitality business owners and their employees, local tax districts, and tobacco consumers are winning. Good for them! Norman E. Kjono | |||||||||||||||