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Smoking Ordinance For Macon Vetoed By Reichert

Macon’s tighter rules on smoking cigarettes are going back to the drawing board, sent there by a mayoral veto Thursday.
Macon Mayor Robert Reichert said he thinks the measure was passed without sufficient public input.

“My veto is based on the fact that this ordinance is, in my opinion, excessively broad and includes public parks as well as all other open spaces” as areas that would be off-limits to smokers, he said in a news release.
The measure passed Macon City Council on April 19 by a vote of 9-6. It takes 10 votes to override a mayoral veto.
“Rather than override the veto, I encourage council to reduce the scope of this ordinance and get Bibb County to pass a joint ordinance,” Reichert’s statement said. “I will work with them in this regard.”
That’s in line with what some opponents wanted. Councilman Mike Cranford said local business owners were petitioning Reichert to veto the ordinance, and threatening to sue if the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect. Arguing that tighter smoking cigarettes rules in Macon would drive bar and restaurant business just outside city limits, they said any new law should be done in conjunction with the county.
Gregory Conley, with the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, welcomed the opportunity for more public discussion since it would allow lobbying for an exemption for electronic cigarettes. Those deliver a mist of nicotine and flavors for “smokers” to inhale, but they don’t actually burn or produce any smoke.
Reichert said input should have been gathered from “citizens, health officials, property and business owners.”

Councilwoman Elaine Lucas, who backs the ordinance, said this week that she’s willing to hold such a forum -- but she wanted any resulting changes to be made as amendments, once the new rules had been approved. Now, any new attempt to pass smoking cigarettes restrictions may include such discussions beforehand.
As written, the Macon ordinance would have gone further than the 2005 Georgia law that banned smoking cigarettes in most workplaces and required separate ventilation for smoking cigarettes rooms in most restaurants and bars.
In addition to banning smoking cigarettes in all offices, the Macon ordinance would have forbade smoking cigarettes in parking garages, private clubs, taxicabs, waiting areas for public transit and outdoor seating such as bleachers; and inside all bars and restaurants.
It would allow smoking cigarettes at most outdoor job sites, in fairly large outdoor dining areas, in up to 20 percent of hotel rooms, and in nursing homes where all room occupants have written doctor’s authorization to smoke. Businesses could designate smoking cigarettes rooms for employees so long as they have separate ventilation.
The ordinance did exempt “premium” cheap smokes retailers, meaning high-end cigar shops, of which there’s only one in Macon. But “discount” cigarettes outlets would not be exempt.


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