Grand Forks City Council members will likely begin the discussion next week on banning smoking in bars, casinos and truck stops.
The subject was broached Monday by council member Doug Christensen, who asked City Attorney Howard Swanson to give the council a briefing on the deadlines it would have to meet to put the issue on the ballot in June.
The council has three choices, he said: "Do nothing. Do something. Or (let voters) vote on it."
A survey released in January by the Grand Forks Tobacco Free Coalition found that 75 percent of adults in town favor a ban on smoking in bars and casinos, and 83 percent felt the same way about truck stops.
In 2005, when the coalition conducted a similar survey, only 37 percent favored banning smoking in bars and 55 percent felt the same about casinos. Truck stops were not singled out.
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Because of the overwhelming majority that favor a smoking ban, some members of the council, such as Council Vice President Eliot Glassheim, favor just having the council pass the ban on its own without taking the issue to the ballot box.
Christensen said he'd probably go along with Glassheim if that happened, though he anticipated some might want a referendum.
Swanson said he'd like to do some research first, but he knows that the council must notify the public of special elections, which have more stringent deadlines, at least 60 days in advance. Since the June election is a set city election, the deadline would be different, he said.
Smoking is currently banned in all public places in the city with exemptions for bars, casinos and truck stops. Smoking foes had tried to eliminate those exemptions in 2006 but failed to win the council's support in part because their survey didn't show a lot of public support.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
