Thursday, December 13 2007
(From
TheTimesHerald.com - Port Huron, MI)
Despite bill's promise of aiding our health, lawmakers let it die
Having trouble enjoying your food at your favorite restaurant due to secondhand smoke? You might as well suck it up. A proposed workplace ban on smoking - including Michigan's bars and restaurants - apparently took its last breath this week.
When the bill passed by a 56-46 vote in the Democrat-controlled House last week, there was hope Michigan could take an important step toward improving the health of its residents. Smoking is harmful enough to those who practice the habit. It is horrible for people who don't smoke but are exposed to its effects because they take in secondhand particularly prevalent in many bars and restaurants.
The Republican Senate never voted the measure up or down. Instead, the bill was sent to the Government Operations and Reform Committee, the final resting place for proposed legislation the chamber is unwilling to take up.
The reasons for its defeat are more difficult to accept.
Article continues here...
