RALEIGH (AP) -- An attempt to ban smoking in many public areas across North Carolina narrowly failed in the House yesterday.
Opponents included tobacco territory Democrats and Republicans who called the measure an infringement on the rights of business owners.
House members voted 61-to-55 against the measure, which was sponsored by Representative Hugh Holliman of Davidson County. He had pulled the measure from the floor calendar several times and taken the bill through committee twice in a futile effort to win support.
Holliman urged lawmakers to view the bill as an effort to protect nonsmoking citizens from unwanted exposure to smoke in restaurants, offices and other businesses. He compared it laws and regulations that try to protect workers from on-the-job hazards.
But opponents insisted the measure would criminalize a legal activity and unfairly punish business owners, who could have been fined if someone smoked in their establishment. The proposed law didn't include any punishment for smokers themselves.
