Public Hearings on Statewide Smoking Ban Legislation

A compromise on legislation (SB 246) that would ban smoking in restaurants, some bars and other public places in Pennsylvania could come as soon as late March, according to the chairman of a legislative committee working on the bill. Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) said the conference committee has planned public hearings March 10 and March 13 in Harrisburg on the bill. Some issues such as whether to post signs warning patrons of restaurants not to light up and disagreements over a list of exceptions to the ban still have to be resolved, he said, but he is aiming for a committee vote by late March or early April.