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| Local smoking bans to begin (in Midlands) |
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Sep 30, 2008 |
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Richland County delaying enforcement; Columbia to charge violators $25 fines
The STATE: By ADAM BEAM and DAWN HINSHAW, abeam@thestate.com dhinshaw@thestate.com
Richland County?s smoking ban goes into effect at midnight ? but will not be enforced because its fines haven?t been updated to reflect a court ruling earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Columbia?s smoking ban, which also goes into effect at midnight, will be enforced by its business-license division, which has a staff of four ? and none of them works at night.
In recent months, both smoking bans have been before the state Supreme Court, which has issued two rulings that changed the bans from $500 criminal offenses to $25 civil penalties.
The original intent had been for the city and county to coordinate their laws.
Columbia City Council members immediately changed their smoking ban to reflect the changes required by the Supreme Court. Richland County has not.
County spokeswoman Tamara King said the clean-up work on the law could be done by Nov. 4.
County Council Chairman Joe McEachern said he was disappointed in the effect of the ruling but said it gives restaurant and bar owners who have been wanting to accommodate their non-smoking customers some ?cover.?
?Even though the penalty may not be as heavy as we would like it to be, this gives them some substance to say, ?We have a smoking ban in our establishment,?? he said.
Local governments can?t use police officers to enforce the smoking ban because it is not a criminal offense.
City Manager Charles Austin said the code enforcers will conduct ?more frequent but random inspections? of bars and restaurants, but admitted the lack of manpower would be a factor.
?I have assured (Business License director Brenda) Kyzer this might entail the need for additional personnel,? Austin said. ?We will do everything within our control to get her the resources that she needs.?
Until then, city officials said they will rely mostly on customers to report bars and restaurants that don?t enforce the ban.
?This would be self-enforcing,? Mayor Bob Coble said. ?That?s the way it has worked everywhere else.?
Austin said while the ban will go into effect Wednesday, the city will not issue citations for 30 days. Instead, the city distribute fliers and run announcements on the city?s Time Warner Cable Channel 2.
?After that, if there is non-compliance, we will issue a warning. And if there is a subsequent violation beyond that, we will issue a citation,? he said.
If a bar or business gets three citations in six months, it could lose its business license.
Scott Fleming said he doesn?t think the city will be able to enforce the ban, but added he plans to enforce it at Group Therapy, the Five Points bar he owns.
Fleming said he has called the city?s information line to get information about the smoking ban, but was referred to City Hall and never heard back.
?I would have liked to have known exactly what was going on,? he said.
There are islands in Richland County where smoking can continue. Communities like Irmo, Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes and Eastover don?t bar it.
But officials in each said many businesses already limit or ban it on their own.
The town of Lexington?s smoking ban, which goes into effect Friday, also will rely mostly on complaints. The town won?t have the ?no-smoking police out,? town attorney Brad Cunningham said.
Camden?s smoking ban began Saturday, but officials there have not issued any citations.
Reach Beam at (803) 771-8405 and Hinshaw at (803) 771-8641. Staff writer Tim Flach contributed.
? 2008 TheState.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thestate.com |
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