Proposed law would ban smoking in restaurants
Senate bill awaits
committee hearing
By adam riback
Correspondent

Sen. Gerald Cardinale

A bill proposed in the state Senate could affect every restaurant and bar in New Jersey.

On Feb. 27, Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union) and Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) proposed a bill (S-2339) that would prohibit smoking in all restaurants and bars in New Jersey.

Although it was introduced on Feb. 27, the bill has not yet been discussed or voted on by a committee. The bill is expected to be reviewed by the Senate’s Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee.

"We thought it would be a good idea to get a debate moving in the Senate. A lot of people were talking but no one did anything about it. You have to get the ball rolling," said Cardinale, who is a practicing dentist.

Cardinale said there are other bills of a similar nature and they are already going through the process a bill must follow before it can become law.

Two to three months were spent in preparation for the bill to be ready to appear before the Senate. Cardinale said he and Lesniak had to research the topic and write a first draft. He said the process can be easier if a bill has two sponsors, especially if one is a Republican and one is a Democrat because it gives the bill a better chance of being passed.

"The bill (S-2339) probably won’t get any attention until November," Cardinale said.

According to Cardinale, the process which a bill must go through in order to be passed begins with its assignment to a specific committee. Then the sponsors ask the committee to put it on the agenda. There is a hearing that is open to the public that helps to decide the fate of the bill.

"I believe some form [of the bill] will be passed within a year or two," Cardinale said. "What we are doing now does not satisfy what we should be doing."

Cardinale said many compromises will have to be made and noted that the bill as it was originally written may not be what is eventually signed into law.

He described a recent experience he had in which he went to a restaurant and asked for a table in a non-smoking section. He was told he would have to wait 20 minutes for a table. The senator said he was told that if he was willing to sit in the smoking section, he could be seated immediately.

Cardinale said the disproportionate sizes of the smoking and non-smoking sections in a restaurant have become a problem.

Cardinale and Lesniak have proposed the bill even though Cardinale said he does not believe a majority of New Jersey residents and business owners support such an idea.

"They are against it and some have spoken to me," the senator said.

To make the process the bill goes through quicker, two bills were proposed. Both of them said the exact same thing at the start. One is going through the Senate and one is in the Assembly. The bill that went through the Assembly has already been amended to accommodate certain exceptions. The Senate bill has not yet been modified and may not be.

If the Senate version of the bill passes the first committee, it will go to the full Senate for a final vote. Eventually, in order to become law, the bill would have to be signed by the governor.

During the hearing to be held by the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee witnesses may speak in favor of or against the senators’ bill. The witnesses may be anyone from the general public and/or representatives of the restaurant industry.

There is no specific date on when the Cardinale-Lesniak bill will be acted on.

The bill’s main statement consists of many smaller rules. The owner of the restaurant or bar would be required to post a sign indicating the no-smoking law. The bill would not apply to any restaurant or bar when it is being privately used for a social affair as long as the smoking area is separated from other patrons currently being served by a floor-to-ceiling wall.

If a person was smoking in a restaurant or bar and was told to obey the law by a municipal or county health official or other public employee but resisted, he would be subject to a fine of up to $25. Under the terms of the bill, the owner of the establishment would only be responsible for putting up the no smoking sign and not enforcing the provisions.

The bill also states that no owner or manager of a restaurant or bar would be subject to any legal action except for limited cases involving an employee.

Joe Mosco, the owner of many restaurants in New Jersey, including Nonna’s family-style Italian restaurant, Marlboro, does not think the proposed law would affect his restaurants too much, but does have his opinion on the bill.

"I feel like financially there will be minimal impact," said Mosco. "Any restaurant with the right arrangements [for smoking and non-smoking sections] has every right to have smoking. The government is wrong to mandate this."

Regarding bars, Mosco said people smoke in conjunction with drinking. For that reason Mosco said he rarely spends time at the bar.

"Other people can make the same choice," he said.

On the other hand, restaurateur Ted Petrov runs a smoke-free restaurant, Mom’s Golden Griddle, Route 9, Manalapan, and thinks the bill is a good idea.

"I run a smoke-free restaurant, and it works out great. Smoking shouldn’t be allowed in any restaurant," Petrov said. Petrov also owns Perkins Family Restaurant, Freehold Township, which has both smoking and non-smoking sections.

Karen Powell, the manager of the Court Jester, Aberdeen Township, said she does not like the bill.

"Every restaurant should have the option to serve smokers and it should be the owner’s choice," said Powell.

Even if the bill is passed, Powell said that "people who want to smoke are going to smoke. People who aren’t smokers have to avoid it."

Powell said she thinks that if the bill is passed it will impact business in a negative way.

John Byrne is the president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA). He said the position of most of the members of the association is for the complete ban of smoking in New Jersey facilities.

"I think most of us would agree smoking is a hazard," he said.

Although Byrne is in favor of the banning of smoking in New Jersey, he said the bill in the Senate now does not portray what the NJRA thinks should be done.

"I think it [the bill] has to exhibit fairness. It doesn’t," he said.

First of all, Byrne explained that if smoking is banned in New Jersey it has to be banned everywhere in the state, not just in bars and restaurants as the bill currently reads. The bill excludes places such as casinos and country clubs.

"If you exclude these people, does that mean that they are any less important than any other people?" Byrne asked.

Byrne stated that it is for these reasons and many others that the NJRA will not support the bill in its current form.

He said that owners of restaurants have no control.

"Some people won’t be able to react," he said.

The outcome of a poll conducted by the NJRA showed that the association would support a ban on smoking in the entire state, but not with exceptions. The bill would be supported by the association if it was "non-exclusionary," he said.

Looking at it from an economic point of view, Byrne said that according to the Associated Press, Delaware, which banned smoking in public facilities, is now paying the price. Byrne said there would be "major economic problems for bars in New Jersey that rely on smokers."

Byrne owns a restaurant in Cherry Hill and said his restaurant has been a smoke-free business for seven years.

When asked if he thought there might be protests against the proposed law, Byrne explained that there might be but people would find a way to "get around it" some­how. Whether people will go out of their way to find a place that allows smoking, possibly in a different state, or if people are just willing to pay the fine in exchange for a smoke, it is Byrne’s opinion that people will find a way.

"If most restaurants have 20 percent of the facility set aside for smokers it would be fair," said Byrne, since according to him 80 percent of the population in New Jersey does not smoke. "We want something that reflects the population."

In the past there have been similar bills proposed but they never came up for a vote.

Byrne said he will attend the public hearing when one is held in Trenton and speak in favor of or against the bill, de­pending on what provisions are contained in the proposed legislation at the time the hearing is held.