Substitute House Bill 2340 revokes the section of the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act that permits smoking in state-owned casinos.
A final vote is set for tdoay.
Many bar owners have protested that the law hurts their businesses.
As amendments were debated, many legislators argued that the effects of secondhand smoke merit government-imposed restrictions. Others contended that the state should not involve itself in peoples' private lives.
"I do not smoke, but I support the rights of those who do smoke," said Rep. Amanda Grosserode, R-Lenexa. "I also vote with my feet. If I don't like the smoke in some business, I have the choice to utilize or not utilize that business."
Representatives quoted results of medical studies and shared personal experiences of the effects of smoking.
Rep. Vern Swanson, R-Clay Center, told of when several legislators visited a restaurant where a waitress encouraged them to pass the smoking ban. She said she had been told by a doctor that she needed to stop smoking.
"But she said, 'I don't smoke. The second-hand smoke in this restaurant is causing me health problems,'" Swanson said. "That made an impression on me."
"I didn't agree when the government imposed a smoking ban last year," said first-year legislator Rep. Randy Garber, R-Sabetha. "I don't agree that a business owner cannot be permitted to allow something that is legal in his establishment."
Garber sponsored an amendment that would permit business owners to allow smoking, provided they post a sign that alerts the public of their policy.
The amendment inspired lengthy debate before failing 69-51.
During testimony in committee last week, lawmakers heard that casinos may lose business to a smoking ban, costing the state revenue.
Casinos in Delaware, Illinois, Colorado and Ontario, Canada, all experienced dips of 20 to 25 percent in gaming revenue after smoking bans took effect, said Elizabeth Tranchina, vice president of legal affairs for Peninsula Gaming, parent company of the Kansas Star casino being built at the Mulvane exit on the Kansas Turnpike.
"In short, a casino smoking ban will significantly reduce state tax revenues, resulting in reduced budget funding for state programs, fewer jobs and jeopardizing future capital investment in the state," she said in her written testimony last week.
The fiscal note attached to the bill said independent studies have shown the Kansas casinos could expect a similar drop in revenue.
Rep. Mario Goico, R-Wichita, warned that the state-run casinos would lose business to the Native American casinos in the state, as well as to casinos in Missouri, both of which permit smoking.
source: www.kansas.com
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