Consensus elusive on smoke-free workplace ban

Publication Date: 2008-03-19

• Publication:Lebanon Daily News, PA

A legislative panel soon will face a big decision that will dictate whether Pennsylvania joins a growing list of states to ban smoking in most public places.

A House-Senate conference committee is expected to meet April 1 in an attempt to reach a compromise on a bill to ban indoor smoking in restaurants and other workplaces.

The six-member conference committee was formed because the House and Senate passed different versions of the smoking ban last year. Debate has raged about whether to include taverns, clubs and casinos in a ban.

Rep. Ron Miller, R-York, sits on the conference committee and said there does not yet appear to be a consensus after a series of meetings and public hearings ended last week.