HANCOCK - The effort to create a law banning smoking in workplaces in Michigan is continuing in Lansing, but differences of opinion over how restrictive such a law should be are keeping it from happening.
On Tuesday, the House by a vote of 73 to 31 approved legislation that bans smoking in most workplaces with the exception of the three Detroit casinos and some specialty tobacco shops. Tribal casinos in the state would be exempt from any smoking ban legislation finally enacted because they are federally regulated.
Guy St. Germain, Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department health officer and administrator in Hancock, said the fact the House approved the legislation is good news.
"We're very encouraged by the action of the House, but there's still a long way to go," he said.
Last year, St. Germain said the Senate approved legislation with no exemptions, but it was not approved by the House. The two chambers were unable to find a compromise.
In 2007 and 2008, St. Germain worked to enact a local version of a smoking ban in the five counties of the health department district called the Western Upper Peninsula Health District Clean Indoor Air Regulation, which required public and private businesses with any number of employees to provide smoke-free work places. Restaurants and bars are exempted from that regulation.
"That is according to state law," St. Germain said.
The law states local entities can't regulate bars or restaurants.
In 2007, St. Germain said he made several trips to the boards of commissioners in Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties to provide information about the proposed regulation. However, only Houghton (March 2007) and Gogebic (June 2007) counties approved it. The Baraga County Board of Commissioners first approved (April 2007) the regulation, then reconsidered and opted out (April 2008). Keweenaw commissioners considered it for many months, then voted in March 2008 to opt out. Ontonagon commissioners opted out in January 2008.
The regulation was enacted in Gogebic and Houghton counties in July 2008, and St. Germain said there haven't been any problems with enforcement in the two counties.
"It's going very well in Houghton and Gogebic counties," he said.
As for the pending state legislation banning smoking in most workplaces, St. Germain said if no law is enacted, he won't try to expand the reach of the local regulation to the other three counties because he respects the decisions of the county commissioners.
"We have no plans to bring that back to the counties," he said.
St. Germain said although many opponents to smoking bans call it a freedom of expression issue, neither the local regulation or proposed state law are intended to regulate private behavior.
"It's an environmental regulation," he said. "The hazards of second-hand smoke have been well validated."
St. Germain said he's working with the Michigan Smoke-Free Coalition, which is comprised of the American Cancer Society and numerous other health-related organizations, to encourage legislators to approve a workplace smoking ban in the state.
He understands the dispute over exemptions will make a final law difficult to achieve, St. Germain said.
"That philosophical divide is still ... around in Lansing," he said. "It's anyone's guess where it will land."
Perkins Family Restaurant in Houghton went smoke-free about a year and a half ago, and General Manager Kevin Porter said the change eventually worked well for them, although some people were upset initially.
"We have customers who come here every day and thank us," Porter said. "We've had customers who said they'd never be back."
However, many of those customers did come back after a few months, Porter said.
The restaurant is owned by an individual who owns six Perkins Restaurants in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where similar smoking-ban legislation was pending.
"He figured he'd have to go smoke-free eventually," Porter said.
Because he thought the states would be enacting workplace smoking bans, Porter said the owner went ahead and made all his restaurants smoke-free.
The intent of the local regulation and the proposed state legislation is to protect the health of workers, and Porter said since the restaurant went smoke-free, employees there are very grateful.
"The staff is definitely good with that," he said.
Besides not smelling of tobacco smoke when they go home, Porter said many staff members have noticed a health difference.
"They just feel a lot better when they leave," he said.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie @mininggazette.com.