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AUGUSTA, Maine --Private clubs will have new procedures to follow when they vote on whether to allow smoking. Gov. John Baldacci on Thursday signed into law a bill that will allow club smoking policy to be decided by a majority of club members who return ballots, rather than a majority of all of a club's members. The new law will correct what critics saw as a flaw in the current procedure, in which smoking policy is decided by a majority of each club's members. Critics said that poses problems because many club members are inactive or can't be located when...

With less than two days remaining until New Jersey bans indoor smoking in public places, restaurant and bar owners discovered they are facing an unexpected restriction -- no smoking within 25 feet of a building. In releasing 77 pages of proposed restrictions yesterday, the state Department of Health and Senior Services unveiled the "25-feet rule" that might all but snuff out plans businesses had to create outdoor areas, such as decks, where customers could smoke. The ban, called the Smoke-Free Air Act, is scheduled to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The proposed restrictions are effective immediately, although...

MONTPELIER -- Higher taxes on tobacco products, a tax on soda and an assessment on employers for workers who aren't offered health insurance will be on the table today as the Senate Finance Committee decides how to pay for a health care reform plan. The plan, which includes a new program called Catamount Health targeted at the state's 61,000 uninsured residents, would require $12.5 million in new money next year as reforms begin. The cumulative revenue requirement reaches $137.9 million over four years. The Senate's tax-writing committee reviewed several combinations of taxes and assessments Tuesday that would generate the money...

A House subcommittee passed two bills Thursday morning that would increase the state's cigarette tax. Kelly Davis is a spokeswoman for South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative. Davis says the increase would help stomp out youth smoking, "A cigarette tax increase will first and foremost prevent thousands of young people from smoking, and current smokers to kick the habit." One proposal would raise the tax by 32 cents with money earmarked for expanding Medicaid programs for low-income children. The second proposal raises the tax by 30 cents, creating a trust fund that lawmakers would decide how to spend. It also would...

LANSING, Mich. Legislation to ban smoking in Michigan's bars and restaurants is stalled in the state Legislature -- six years after it was first introduced.Health groups and other supporters of the ban say secondhand smoke is a health risk, especially for pregnant women, asthmatics and restaurant workers.But so far, Republicans who control the Legislature agree with restaurants and bars that argue they should be free to decide whether to allow smoking without intrusion from government.New York City, Chicago, Dallas and 15 states have approved smoking bans in restaurants; fewer have restricted it in bars.

Federal regulators have voted to impose severe restrictions on salmon fishing off the coasts of Oregon and Northern California to protect dwindling populations in the Klamath River. The Pacific Fishery Management Council decided to close about 700 miles of coastline to commercial salmon fishing for most of June and July. Those are generally the most productive months of the season.

If we were a basketball team, I'd say it's time to look for a new coach: someone who could take the program in another direction. Someone who could take a program that is in a mess and find a way to straighten things out. A Roy Williams kind of guy. Someone with character and integrity. Someone who cared about getting results, but also cared about the way that one gets results. Someone who understood the importance of credibility, character, and reputation. The anti-smoking movement, I believe, is in a real mess. The highlight of that mess of course is the...

The New Hampshire Senate narrowly defeated a bill yesterday that would have banned smoking in the state's bars and restaurants.  Lou D'Allesandro, right, the deputy Democratic leader in the New Hampshire Senate, argued in vain Thursday for a smoking ban. The measure, which easily passed the House this week, failed by a vote of 12 to 11. Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, said he would have signed the bill had it passed. Fourteen states and a number of municipalities have banned smoking in all workplaces in recent years, although a coalition in New Jersey is suing to keep that state's...

DENVER -- Opponents of the statewide smoking ban are considering a court challenge in an effort to prevent the law from taking effect July 1. Bar and tavern owners, racetrack proprietors and bingo hall operators believe the law is unconstitutional, according to Chuck Ford, a lobbyist for bars and taverns.Bar owners, casinos and other groups lobbied hard for exemptions from the ban when House Bill 1175 was being debated, claiming it was unfair for lawmakers to exempt casinos, tobacco shops, cigar bars, the smoking lounge at Denver International Airport and private workplaces with no more than three employees. Ford...

City voters reject proposal 987-789Voters in the City of Rhinelander have sent a message that they don't want a smoking ban.Voters were asked to respond to a referendum question asking if smoking should be prohibited in public places, including restaurants in the city. City voters opposed the referendum on a 987-789 vote. “This is a great day for City of Rhinelander voters who saw this as a rights issue, it's an expression of freedom of choice,” said Rob Swearingen of Be Fair.“We are pleased with the results,” said Rachelle Ibarra, president of Be Fair. “Our opponents said that the trend...

AUGUSTA, Maine --Maine state government could lose $8.8 million due to a ruling favoring the country's largest tobacco companies. An independent arbiter has agreed with tobacco companies that terms of the 1998 settlement between states and the tobacco companies caused them to lose market share in the United States. Under the terms of the deal, the tobacco companies can make their case that the $6.5 billion they owe states on April 17 should be reduced by about $1.2 billion. The March 28 finding by the arbiter puts at risk about $8.8 million in Maine. But before the tobacco companies...

BEFORE ANYONE trots out the disinformation to support a smoking ban in Philadelphia, let me tell you that New York City's sales-tax revenue for bars and restaurants did not rise "8.7 percent" as claimed (and repeated ad nauseam) by agencies Mayor Bloomberg dispatched on the first anniversary of the city's ban.Not only were the figures distorted by including places like McDonald's and Starbucks, but smoking was banned in 95 percent of restaurants since the 1995 smoking ban.What pre- to post-ban restaurant tax-revenue comparison was there to make? In all cases (notably bars), sales tax revenue was artificially low immediately following...

APPLETON — The group that brought the issue of secondhand smoke hazards to Appleton is being fined for distributing improperly identified campaign material. Outagamie County Dist. Atty. Carrie Schneider said today that officials of the Community Action for Tobacco Free Living Coalition have indicated they will likely pay a fine in connection with a forfeiture complaint charged on Tuesday. The complaint, alleging the coalition violated state election laws by failing to note on some campaign material who authorized and paid for the material, is not a misdemeanor or felony and does not carry a jail sentence. “It would be like...

WASHINGTONA legal battle may be looming between states, including North Carolina, and tobacco companies over money owed from a landmark 1998 settlement agreement. What's at stake could be more than $1 billion.An economic consulting firm determined late Monday that the agreement between the cigarette companies and the states was a "significant factor" in contributing to a loss of market share for the companies that signed on to the settlement.The report stated that the agreement, which imposed numerous marketing limits on the companies and required billions of dollars in payments to states, led to the erosion of their market share...

AUGUSTA, Maine --The Maine Senate changed its mind Monday about smoking in private clubs and overturned its vote from last week in support of snuffing out smokes in Elks, American Legion and other clubs that have employees.The Senate's 21-13 vote Monday against the club smoking ban came just a few days after its unexpected vote to put the ban in place. The measure now goes back to the House.Monday's vote also followed a debate in which senators defending the ban said it's consistent with state policy to protect the health of people in the workplace, while treating businesses and clubs...

ACKSON, Miss. - Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday vetoed a bill that would continue to allow the Mississippi Legislature to give $20 million a year to a private, nonprofit anti-tobacco organization.In his veto message, Barbour said "the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi has been cloaked in politics and cronyism."The Partnership has received $20 million a year by court order since 2000. The money comes from a massive lawsuit Mississippi settled with tobacco companies in 1997.Barbour, a Republican, sued in 2005 seeking to halt payments to the Partnership, which is led by former Attorney General Mike Moore, a Democrat.Moore filed...

For the past eight years, major cigarette makers and 46 state governments have enjoyed a beautiful partnership: The cigarette companies paid billions into state coffers in return for the states abandoning legal claims against the industry.On Monday comes a decision that could fray the relationship.That's when an arbiter is to issue a decision that could allow cigarette companies to reduce a multibillion-dollar payment due this spring by $1.2 billion -- and potentially similar amounts in future years. A decision in favor of the industry would be a significant blow to the states, which have come to rely on the annual...

The need for jobs and the condition of downtown buildings top the list of issues facing Sedalia, said mayoral candidates Thursday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.Candidates David Schick and Larry Stevenson said Sedalia needs small businesses."That way if they come in, and things don't work, we don't have the catastrophe like when the Union Pacific shops came in here," Mr. Stevenson said. "... When they shut down, they crippled Sedalia."Mr. Stevenson, 63, said he would promote the enhanced enterprise zone to attract more business to the community.Kevin Walker says better jobs will help single parents...

Dozens of cities and towns have already banned smoking in such clubs, which include veterans' posts and ethnic heritage clubs. The high court's decision keeps these bans in place.

UGUSTA, Maine — Senators gave their approval Wednesday to two bills dealing with smoking in private clubs, one making it easier for clubs to allow smoking and the other barring it outright in clubs that have paid employees. After a brief debate, senators gave initial approval to a measure that would correct what´s seen as a flaw in the year-old state law that regulates smoking in private clubs such as Elks and American Legions. The current rules say that in order to allow smoking, a majority of a club´s members must vote yes. Critics contend that´s unfair because even...