With no debate, members of the House of Representatives unanimously approved today a statewide ban on smoking in most public buildings.
House Bill 283, sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque, now heads to the Senate.
It would ban smoking in and around restaurants, bars, workplaces and most other public facilities in the state and in busses, taxicabs and other public transit vehicles. A similar bill passed the house two years ago but wasn’t acted on by the Senate before the end of the session.
This year, Park’s bill also proposes to name the smoking ban the Dee Johnson Clean Indoor Air Act in honor of the former first lady, who died in December. She was an advocate for making the state capitol building a smoke-free facility.
The bill, if approved by the Senate and signed by the governor, would allow smoking in casinos and bingo halls, private clubs and private residences – except during business hours for those residences that also act as small business locations.
“I support the measure, and especially support it as a tribute to the advocacy on the issue by former First Lady Dee Johnson,” Majority Leader Ken Martinez, D-Grants, told me after the vote.