Updated Wednesday --- March 12, 2008 --- 1:30pm

Smoking ban appears to be going up in smoke in Wis. Legislature

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Barring a last-minute breakthrough, a statewide smoking ban is about to be snuffed out in the Legislature.

The Assembly plans to finish its work for the year on Wednesday and the smoking ban was not scheduled for a vote. The Senate has likewise not taken a vote on the ban, which has to pass both chambers and be signed by the governor before it becomes law.

Gov. Jim Doyle has been advocating for the ban for months but it met with staunch opposition from the powerful Tavern League lobby. The group did not want the ban to start in bars at the same time as restaurants and other work places.

AP

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Posted Tuesday --- March 11, 2008 -- 6:00pm

Madison: Don't expect a statewide smoking ban to get passed any time soon, and the legislative session is almost over.

In January 2007, a newly re-elected Gov. Doyle made a statewide smoking ban a key part of his agenda, including it in his State of the State Address. "Tonight, I'm asking this legislature to make all public buildings and all work places completely smoke free."

Fourteen months later, the legislature is about to close the session without ever taking the smoking ban to the floor. "We've got three days left, actually two and a half now, so time's getting very short," says Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston).

The ban was ignored all of last year while the Assembly and Senate fought over the state budget. Immediately after the budget was passed, Russ Decker took over as Senate Majority Leader, and declared the smoke free advocates needed to reach a compromise with the Tavern League before the bill could reach the floor. "If the sides are still willing to compromise-the smoke-free people and the Tavern League-we'll still get this done. It's not that difficult an issue."

Decker says their latest proposal would ban workplace smoking immediately-except for bars and taverns. They would get an exemption until July of 2011.

Maureen Busalacchi of Smoke Free Wisconsin says that's three years for the Tavern League to fight to repeal the act, and we might have a new governor by then. "The whole make-up of the legislature could be very different at that point in time, and that's something the Tavern League might be betting on."

Busalacchi says they'd accept a phase-in of 2010, but only if local communities could still go forward with their own bans.

Decker says no dice. "More and more municipalities are calling us up and saying do a statewide proposal, because then we have a statewide policy."

Decker says if the ban isn't passed this week it won't be brought up again until next January, at which point they might still want a three year phase-in. "I think they're a little bit naive on how the political process works."

Busalacchi says if the session ends, they'll fight their battle elsewhere. "If we need to go back and do it community by community, that's how we'll do it."