by KYW's Tony Romeo
A Pennsylvania state House-Senate conference committee on Monday opened two days of hearings as it tries to forge a compromise smoking ban bill for Pennsylvania.
The state House and Senate failed to produce a final smoking ban bill last year. But despite that, the chairman of a House-Senate conference committee tasked with hammering out a compromise –- Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R-Bucks and Montgomery counties) -– says the question is not whether Pennsylvania will pass clean air legislation, but how and when.
One of the remaining issues is whether casinos will get an exemption. As Greenleaf’s panel began hearings, Vinnie Rennich, an Atlantic City casino worker with lung cancer, lobbied against a New Jersey–like exemption for casinos:
“Now, the State of New Jersey is 99 percent smoke-free, except for the casino floor. So 100 percent of the smoke is forced into a 25-percent area. It’s horrendous, and it’s being circumvented. It’s a joke now.”
The conference committee is also wrestling with possible exceptions for taverns and private clubs.
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