Where you could light up:
Your house, unless it is used for child care, adult day care or health care
Twenty-five percent of hotel and motel rooms rented to guests, provided they are designated as smoking rooms
Retail tobacco stores
A reasonable distance from areas where smoking is prohibited
Some places where you couldn’t:
Elevators, restrooms, lobbies, receptions areas, hallways and any other common-use areas
All means of public transit
Service lines and retail stores
All areas available to the general public in all businesses and non-profit organizations
Restaurants, bars and private clubs
Public areas of galleries, libraries and museums
City-owned facilities, including vehicles
Theaters and auditoriums used for movies, plays, lectures, recitals and other performances.
Sports arenas, convention halls and bowling facilities
Every place of meeting or public assembly
Hospitals, clinics, physical therapy facilities, doctor’s and dentist offices
Lobbies, hallways and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multiple –unit residences
Polling places
Places of employment
Outdoor seating in restaurants and courtyards
Any place food and drink is offered for sale
Private functions conducted in public places like bars, restaurants, hotels and motels
By PAIGE E. WASSEL, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Franklin City Council members will hear debate on a smoking ban that would keep people from lighting up everywhere except private homes, tobacco stores and some hotel rooms.
The proposal before the council bans smoking in restaurants, bars, businesses and most public places.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall to discuss the proposal and hear input from the public.
At the meeting, the council can vote on the ban, make changes or postpone a decision until April.
Four council members would have to vote in favor of the measure for it to pass.
On Friday, several council members said they wanted to hear debate on the subject before they decided if they would support the ban.
The discussion comes weeks after other cities and counties have gone smoke-free.
Smoking bans in Greenfield and Marion County became effective March 1, and Carmel’s ban took effect March 5. Smoking will be illegal in restaurants, businesses and most public places in Greenwood starting April 21.
Council members said many of the details in the current proposal still need to be discussed, such as how the ban would be enforced and when it would become effective.
Some members questioned how the measure might affect area businesses by prohibiting smoking in areas where residents are allowed to smoke in neighboring communities.
Council member Joe Ault has received e-mails and phone calls from residents supporting the ban. Ault said he is not a smoker, but he has a problem with the government telling people what they can and can’t do.
Council member Jeff Eggers said he probably wouldn’t be in favor of the ban in its current form, as it is more restrictive than smoking ordinances in place in Greenwood and Indianapolis.
The Franklin proposal includes bars, which are exempt under the Greenwood ban.
He wondered if the ban would hurt businesses by prohibiting smoking in places where people could light up in Greenwood and Indianapolis.
“I’d be hard pressed to further interfere with other people’s businesses,” Eggers said.
Council member Steve Hougland said he favored some form of a ban but had concerns about how it might be enforced.
Under the proposal, the mayor’s office would designate someone to address complaints and write notices to those who violate the ban.
Eggers said he wasn’t sure they should put the burden of enforcement on the mayor and city attorney.
Greenwood City Council members had a similar discussion when they debated a smoking ordinance, as they worried about putting the enforcement burden on city police.
In a revised version of the ordinance, designated members of the Greenwood Fire Department and the city’s code enforcement office can help police write tickets for people who light up in nonsmoking areas.
Hougland also said it wasn’t realistic to even consider making the ban effective immediately upon approval.
Council members William Murphy and Ken Austin were waiting until Monday to make a final decision about the measure.
Council members Ann Gordon and Phil Barrow were unavailable for comment on Friday.
Both Gordon and Barrow have said they lean toward supporting a smoking ban. Barrow has said that he thought the ban should be as strict as possible because of the health dangers posed by secondhand smoke.
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