Bertsch urges legislators to tackle smoking

Publication Date: 2005-02-03

• Author:Curt Woodward, AP
• Publication:In Forum

Lawmakers should decide whether North Dakota workers need protection from secondhand smoke, says a state official who already has power to snuff out cigarettes in the workplace.

"This legislative assembly needs to address this issue," Labor Commissioner Leann Bertsch said Wednesday. "I would rather not have to."

Bertsch spoke at a House Industry, Business and Labor Committee hearing on legislation that would give the labor commissioner, who is appointed by the governor, the authority to regulate smoking in private businesses.