2001 SESSION

01-0817

05/10

HOUSE BILL 713-FN

COMMITTEE: Commerce

ANALYSIS

This bill:

I. Requires separated `smoking' and `non-smoking' areas and compliance with minimum ventilation standards after January 1, 2003.

II. Prohibits smoking in restaurants after January 1, 2003.

III. Removes the exemption from the indoor smoking act for restaurants with seating for less than 50 people.

IV. Exempts cocktail lounges from the act if they are effectively segregated from any non smoking area.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

01-0817

05/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Statement of Purpose and Legislative Findings.

I. Recognizing that it is the role of New Hampshire state government to oversee and protect the public health of all its citizens, this act will further reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in restaurants throughout the state.

II. Recent studies of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimate that secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 37,000 heart disease deaths in nonsmokers each year. More than 115,000 adults in New Hampshire suffer from asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and lung disease. Environmental tobacco smoke has been recognized as a major irritant to the health of all these adults.

III. The EPA further estimates that secondhand smoke is especially harmful to asthmatic children and worsens the condition of between 200,000 and 1 million asthmatic children nationwide. In New Hampshire there are 21,917 known cases of pediatric asthma. These children also deserve greater protection from exposure to secondhand smoke.

IV. It is also the responsibility of the state of New Hampshire to insure the health of its workers in public establishments. By reducing the areas in restaurants, which expose wait staff to the dangers of environmental tobacco smoke, such individuals will be guaranteed healthier working conditions and reduced risk to asthmatic irritants and lung cancer.

V. By reducing the number of its adults and children with medical problems caused by exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, New Hampshire will join the surrounding states of Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts in providing a healthier climate for all its citizens. Healthcare costs related to environmental tobacco smoke in New Hampshire will also be reduced.

2 Indoor Smoking Act; Definition of Effectively Segregated Amended. Amend RSA 155:65, V (c) and (d) to read as follows:

(c) [A contiguous portion of the enclosed public place, including any seating arrangements, measures a minimum of 200 square feet, and at least one of the following 2 contingencies exist:

(1) There is a continuous, physical barrier such as a wall, partition or furnishing at least 56 inches in height to separate the no-smoking area from a smoking-permitted area. The barrier may contain doors or portals for exit and entry; or

(2) There is a space of at least 4 feet in width to separate the smoking-permitted and no-smoking areas. This space may be either an unoccupied area or a section of seating area representing a buffer zone in which smoking is not permitted, but which itself is not part of the no-smoking designated area] In buildings where existing ventilation systems are in place, areas designated as smoking areas are located, where reasonably possible, proximate to exhaust vents; and

(d) [In buildings where existing ventilation systems are in place, areas designated as smoking areas are located, where reasonably possible, proximate to exhaust vents.] A contiguous portion of the enclosed public place, including any seating arrangements, measures a minimum of 200 square feet, and at least one of the following 2 contingencies exist:

(1) There is a continuous, physical barrier such as a wall, partition or furnishing at least 56 inches in height to separate the no-smoking area from a smoking-permitted area. The barrier may contain doors or portals for exit and entry; or

(2) There is a space of at least 4 feet in width to separate the smoking-permitted and no-smoking areas. This space may be either an unoccupied area or a section of seating area representing a buffer zone in which smoking is not permitted, but which itself is not part of the no-smoking designated area.

3 Indoor Smoking Act; Definition of Effectively Segregated. RSA 155:65, V (d) is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

(d) An enclosed place separates the no-smoking area from the smoking-permitted area. For cocktail lounges, up to 30 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per occupant shall be provided for 100 people per 1,000 square feet. Room air shall be discharged directly outdoors rather than recirculated; unless the property is listed on or is determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the state register of historic places, or a locally designated historic district.

4 New Paragraph; Smoking Prohibited; Restaurants Added. Amend RSA 155:66 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:

VIII. Restaurants.

5 Indoor Smoking Act; Exemption for Cocktail Lounges Modified. Amend RSA 155:67, IX to read as follows:

IX. Cocktail lounges provided that they are effectively segregated from any nonsmoking area, as defined in RSA 155:65, I and V.

6 Repeal. RSA 155:67, VIII, relative to exempting restaurants with seating for fewer than 50 people from the indoor smoking act, is repealed.

7 Effective Date.

I. Sections 3 and 4 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2003.

II. Sections 2, 5, and 6 of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

01-0817

2/14/01

HB 712-FN - FISCAL NOTE

FISCAL IMPACT: