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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus |
  
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Shimkus votes for statewide smoking ban
Urges Senate to reconsider its vote on the compromise bill
HARRISBURG, June 4 – By a vote of 163-39, the House today passed a statewide smoking ban proposal (S.B. 246). State Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus, D-Lackawanna, who has long supported a statewide smoking ban, made an impassioned plea on the House Floor in favor of the bill.
"An average of six people a day die from secondhand smoke in Pennsylvania," Shimkus said. "People are dying, and we're here arguing when we should be doing something."
A House and Senate conference committee crafted a compromise statewide smoking ban. The result was S.B. 246, which was reported out of the committee Tuesday. Shimkus said he was not happy with all the exceptions in the compromise bill.
"This bill certainly is not perfect, but it is at least something that will protect a majority of citizens from the health risks associated with secondhand smoke," Shimkus said.
The compromise legislation would exclude drinking establishments from the smoking ban, allow smoking on at least 25 percent of a casino's floor with the potential to increase it to 50 percent based on economic hardships, and permit smoking at non-profit fundraisers and tobacco expos. The compromise bill also would preempt local control, but allow Philadelphia to pass its own, stricter smoking regulations.
The Senate voted down the compromise bill by a vote of 19-31, but the bill may be reconsidered Monday when it returns to session.
"I would strongly encourage our colleagues in the Senate to do the right thing and reconsider this smoking ban bill," Shimkus said. "If we do not pass a smoking ban now, it will be next year before we can take up the measure again. I would remind the Senate that an average of six people die every day because of exposure to secondhand smoke. Can we really afford to wait any longer to pass a smoking ban?"
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