â??We feel like the best way for smoking to be regulated is at the state-wide level rather than having a wide patch-work of local bans throughout the state.â?

With Madison and Appleton already on board with city-wide public smoking bans, the entire state of Wisconsin could be next.

Starting this week, State Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) plans to circulate a bill to begin the first step in creating a state-wide clean indoor air act for all public places.

“It“s an expansion of Madison city ordinance,” Risser said in a phone interview from Madison last Wednesday.

Risser“s proposed clean air act would be for all public places including bars and restaurants, which is similar to the Madison ban.

And the Wisconsin Restaurant Association“s board of directors, with a 36-1 vote, said it would support a state-wide ban

“We feel like the best way for smoking to be regulated is at the state-wide level rather than having a wide patch work of local bans throughout the state,” said Pete Hanson, WRA director of government relations.

“(The board) all agreed we need to have a level playing field,” Hanson said.

According to a letter from the Wisconsin Restaurant Association to its members, there are 30 individual smoking bans throughout the state and 26 states already ban smoking in restaurants.

As of last Wednesday, Risser had not finalized the drafted bill, but said he planned to have it circulating this week and hopes to obtain co-sponsorship within the week. From there it will go on to be debated by the Legislature.

But both the Risser and Hanson said that the ordinance could take a while to implement.

Shorewood looking into municipal smoking ban

Shorewood, located just north of Milwaukee, is one of a number of small communities interested in initiating a municipal smoking ordinance, but is cautious to go ahead alone.

“I don“t want to be taking chances on someone else“s livelihood,” Village Trustee Jeff Hanewall said at the Shorewood Village Board meeting last Monday.

Hanewall, as well as many of the other trustees, are worried how competing bars and restaurants in Milwaukee could take away business if a ban is not enacted there.

“We sit aside the largest metropolitan area in the state, where there is no prospect of a smoking ban,” Trustee Michael Phinney said.

If the ordinance went through, Phinney said it would be “essentially creating an island.”

Thus, after two years of working on a proposed ordinance, Shorewood is still undecided on what to do, but considering options.

Those options include a complete ban to go in effect July 1, 2009; a ban with an exemption for taverns and restaurants also going into effect July 1, 2009; or a ban with a temporary exemption for taverns and restaurants with plans to convert to a complete ban in 2011.

Also after the Monday meeting, the board asked the village to draw up a forth option to consider what percentage of alcohol sales in bars and restaurants would qualify for the exemption. Currently the proposed percentage written in the second option is 25 to 30 percent, but several trustees spoke out in concern about the amount“s being too low.

Lisa Davidson of the American Cancer Society also said she was concerned about the low percentage and said it could set an all time low for the state.

“I don“t think anyone should choose between their jobs and their health,” Davidson said.

Several of the businesses that will be affected by the ordinance would include Harry“s Bar and Grill, the Village Pub and the BritInn.

While the Wisconsin Restaurant Association supports a state-wide ordinance, it is against city-wide ordinances that could hurt businesses with close municipalities still offering smoking areas.

The Shorewood Village Board plans to discuss the issue again at its Feb. 26 meeting at 7 p.m. in the Shorewood Village Hall.

Risser said he hopes the legislation can be passed in this legislative session. Risser said it typically takes around six months for signed bills to go into effect. However, he is uncertain about how long it could take the smoking ban to go into effect if it is signed.

“Economically it will create an even playing field â?¦ over half the people in the United States live in places that are smoke-free,” he said.

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