Original Story: Aug 13th.
Kokomo, no not the locale made famous by the Beach Boys. Kokomo, IN. The Kokomo Common Council unveiled a draft of a smoke-free ordinance that would ban smoking in all enclosed public places.
The draft was presented to the council Monday and removes the current exemption for tobacco outlets, bars, taverns and fraternal organizations. It also includes a ban for E-cigarettes.
The committee will meet again on Monday to discuss amendments to the draft ordinance, before going to a first reading on August 25th. Should the ordinance pass among council members, it would need to go through a second reading on September 8th.
In July of 2012, a state-wide ban went into effect with exemptions for bars & taverns, horse racing facilities, off-track betting, casinos and riverbeds.
A statewide smoking ban went into effect in July 2012 that prohibited smoking in all public places and 8 feet from an entrance. Exemptions were granted for bars and taverns, horse-racing facilities, off-track betting parlors, casinos and riverboats.
Council Chair Bob Hayes was quoted in saying that it is a good start to ale Kokomo smoke-free.
1st Update: Despite a protest of more than 50 people outside the city council, the smoking ban was approved 5-4 on its first reading. It will now undergo a second reading on September 8th, and if it passes again it will become law.
2nd Update: A second reading of the proposed smoking ban featured a protest of 50 people outside the city council, and inside the council heard passionate words from smokers against the ban. After all was said and done, the council voted against the ban 5-4. The result is smoking remains allowed in bars and casinos.
