Supporters of an ordinance that would ban smoking in bars and casinos in East Baton Rouge Parish are optimistic as they prepare for the June 28 Metro Council meeting at which council members will take up the measure.
So far, seven council members have committed to supporting the ban, including the council’s five Democratic members and two of the seven Republicans: Matt Watson and Barbara Freiburg. But organizers of the effort are not taking anything for granted.
“We don’t count a yes as a yes until they press that green button,” says Lydia Kuykendal, Louisiana governmental relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, which is a member of the Smoke-free East Baton Rouge coalition. “We feel good about the commitments we’ve gotten, but we know things can change.”
A 10-year-old state law already prohibits smoking in all workplaces, including private businesses, except for bars and casinos. The proposed ordinance, which narrowly failed in 2016, would remove that exemption.
East Baton Rouge is one of the few parishes in Louisiana without a ban, and advocates of the measure say it would protect the health of some 3,000 casino and bar employees.
“We’re not anti-choice,” Kuykendal says. “We’re saying public safety trumps your right to have toxic air in your place of employment.”
Many bar owners support the measure, as do doctors groups, hospitals, and musicians. Polling data also shows overwhelming support for the measure—even among staunch Republicans, who often take philosophical issue with government intrusion on their businesses.
One business group that hasn’t taken a position on the issue, however, is the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp says “there’s no specific reason” that the organization hasn’t taken a position on the matter, but that it doesn’t intend to jump into the fray.
“It’s not a topic we’ve been involved in in the past as an economic development or business competitiveness issue,” he says.
Lobbyist Randy Hayden, who represents Smoke-free East Baton Rouge, says that during the 2016 campaign to ban smoking, he lobbied BRAC unsuccessfully. This year, he says he didn’t bother.
“We tried to get them on board last year and they said they were going to sit on the fence on it, that they had casino and bar members and were going to sit this one out,” he says. “So we did not pursue it this year because we know they’re conflicted because of their membership.”
—Stephanie Riegel
