Rep. Brown rejects smoking ban deal in General Assembly

INDIANAPOLIS | State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, rejected an offer Thursday to have the General Assembly study the issue of a statewide smoking ban this summer in exchange for Brown releasing his hold on two legislative measures.

"We've already studied it. What do we need to study it some more for?" Brown said. "They're giving me nothing."

Brown is holding up legislative action on Senate Bill 175 and House Bill 1132 until the Republican-controlled Senate agrees to vote on Brown's statewide smoking ban proposal already approved twice by the Democratic-controlled House.

The two health-related pieces of legislation caught in the crossfire cannot advance to the House and Senate for a final vote without Brown's signature on their conference committee reports. Brown said he is happy to sign the two proposals, so long as his smoking ban language remains in House Bill 1132.

At this point, the Senate will not agree to that compromise. Brown and other lawmakers are continuing to negotiate ahead of Thursday night's scheduled adjournment of the General Assembly.

Brown said a 2007 health policy study committee already weighed the pros and cons of a statewide smoking ban and came out unanimously for it. There's no need for the state to spend money on a second study just three years later, Brown said.

The proposed smoking ban would prohibit smoking in all indoor spaces except gaming facilities. Brown said he is willing to add exemptions for private clubs, tobacco shops and family-owned businesses with minimal public contact if it will get him a Senate vote on the measure.

Brown has also offered to make the effective date of the smoking ban July 1, 2011, to satisfy Senate President David Long, R-Fort Wayne, who has said he wants to wait until next year before considering a smoking ban.