Senate committee to consider bill to ban smoking in public restaurants By DAVID EGGERT The Associated Press 6/21/2004, 5:21 p.m. ET LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state Senate committee will consider a proposed ban on smoking in public restaurants, but opposition from business groups and others makes the bill's approval a tough sell, especially in Michigan's struggling economic climate. After a 16-month wait, a Senate committee on Tuesday will hear testimony from supporters and opponents of the legislation to prohibit smoking in restaurants. It would exempt bars that take in less than 30 percent of their income from food, along...