Thursday, July 27 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS - Bar owners in Colorado Springs will get their chance to claim theyre exempt from the states new smoking ban, but
can expect to be audited.
"What we're in the process of doing is to establish a process to identify who's exempt and who's not," said Colorado Springs police commander Kurt Pillard.
The decision to survey Colorado Springs establishments came this week during a meeting of numerous local government representatives who discussed how to enforce the state smoking ban that went into effect for bars and restaurants July 1.
A few downtown bars have continued to allow smoking, contending they meet the definition of a "cigar-tobacco bar," establishments granted exemptions under the new law. Such bars must generate "at least 5 percent or more of its total annual gross income or $50,000 in annual sales from the on-site sale of tobacco products and the rental of on-site humidors," according to the law.
Some bars locally and across the state claim they are exempt based solely on cigarette sales, but a lawmaker who supported the smoking ban said such interpretations are not accurate. Rep. Mark Larson of Cortez said the "cigar-tobacco bar" exemption was intended for a half-dozen or so establishments statewide that had made significant investments in the cigar business, such as for walk-in humidors. Larson also said the exemption was meant for cigar tobacco - not all tobacco.
Pillard also said it was his understanding that qualifying bars must have had a humidor by Dec. 31, 2005, but that the type of humidor and other questions about the exemption would have to be interpreted by another office.
Ill leave that up to the attorneys that are involved.
Although Colorado Springs law enforcement officials have agreed to a 60-day grace period in which bars would receive warnings instead of fines, Pillard said "we could enforce it now if theres a specific problem."
"We've had a lot of conversations with downtown bars, and a lot of them have been real compliant and some of them have not."
He would not offer specifics about enforcement.
"That wouldn't be very wise for me to tell anyone in advance what were going to do," he said.
First-time offenders face a fine of $200, with penalties rising to $300 on the second offense and $500 on subsequent offenses.
Charles Lawson, owner of V Bar downtown, said Tuesday that patrons are still smoking at the nightclub on East Kiowa Street.
"I feel I meet the (exemption) criteria based on what I know," Lawson said. "As far as I know, we're a smoking bar until somebody can tell us otherwise. I think that sums it up pretty well, because there hasnt been a clear direction."
The issue of how the exemption is interpreted is also going on in other Colorado communities.
Orio's Roadhouse in Durango, for instance, stashed away its ashtrays Thursday after receiving a warning from the district attorney. The bar claimed to be exempt because it met the 5 percent tobacco sales threshold.
At Curly's Place in Calhan, the last cigarettes were put out Wednesday, after a visit from a liquor enforcement officer.
Curly's sells cigarettes but not cigars. It does not have a humidor.
Bartender Laura DiFiore said customers are understanding, but the smoking ban is hurting Curly's business. "They keep coming in, but they don't stay," she said, adding that one night last week she made just 75 cents in tips.
"We are nonsmoking right now while we're waiting for somebody to give us a definitive answer," said DiFiore, who said she has yet to talk with anyone in any government office who can answer all her questions. One call to the Governor's Office turned into five calls as one governmental agency after another referred her elsewhere, she said.
One person finally told her, "The only thing I can tell you is you need to talk to your lawyer."
In the past few days, using the Internet and newspapers, she's been contacting other bars across Colorado that also have problems with the law.
"I guess we're just going to have to get somebody to get cited," DiFiore said. "We'll have to have one bar - I don't know if it will be us here at Curly's or a major bar in Denver or in the Springs - to go in front of a judge.
"It's going to have to be tested by the law," she said. "No law is truly valid until it's been tested by the courts."
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, as reported by Cary Leider Vogrin
Published: July 26, 2006
