By Sarah Green
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, June 22
The Kansas Supreme Court today upheld a lower court”s ruling that Lawrence”s smoking ban was constitutional.
Dennis Steffes, a Lawrence nightclub owner, filed suit against the city claiming its smoking ban
one of the first comprehensive bans in the state
overstepped state law. He was cited in 2004 soon after the ban was enacted by the Lawrence police after they received reports people were smoking in his club.
The Supreme Court in its review of the case ruled that cities have a right, under the so-called “Home Rule” law, to enact their own smoking ordinances that are more “stringent” than state statutes. The Lawrence ordinance prohibits smoking in public places and virtually all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. State statute allows proprietors of establishments to ban smoking, if no other ordinances are in play. Smoking is also not allowed on elevators, school buses or public transportation.
“In our view, “stringent regulation” can certainly include “absolute prohibition,” i.e., the most stringent regulation of all. Stated another way, the legislature has set a floor, but not a ceiling, for how much a city should regulate smoking,” the court”s opinion said.
Steffes also said the ordinance was “unconstitutionally vague” and didn”t provide enough guidance for business owners to act appropriately. He was ticketed for others smoking in the bar even though he was not there.
“The City’s ordinance conveys sufficient definite warning and fair notice as to the prohibited conduct in light of common understanding,” the court concluded.
Philip Bradley, executive director of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association, said the decision meant bar operators in Lawrence will continue living with the ban.
“We”re going forward just as we were before,” he said. “My members have only ever wanted a just and reasonable enforcement and the ability to accommodate all of their customers. We”re still hoping for that possibility.”
Bradley”s association was not a party to the lawsuit but Steffes” complaint has been echoed by other Lawrence bar owners.
“I”m a supporter of the principal” of the suit, he said. “I thought the way the city chose to pass the law and enforce it was odd.”
The ruling was a victory for tobacco control advocates.
“We”re thrilled, of course,” said Dr. Steve Bruner, a member of Clean Air Lawrence. “This couldn”t have been a better decision from our point. In a way, we almost need to thank Mr. Steffes for clearing the air on this.”
The decision could also trigger new bans in cities that have considered enacting their own smoking bans but were awaiting the decision, said Mary Jayne Hellebust, executive director of the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition. To date, 17 Kansas cities have passed local clean air ordinances.
“At this point, since the Supreme Court has reviewed this ordinance, we can assume that cities could look to the Lawrence ordinance as perhaps a good starting place for an ordinance of their own,” she said.
“We are very pleased with this ruling. It confirms our belief that this is fundamentally a public health issue, not an individual rights question,” said Roderick L. Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
-Sarah Green is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. She can be reached at
sgreen@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 118.