A ban on smoking in Minnesota workplaces, including bars and restaurants, was approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor Monday.

It was supported by Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, but opposed by Rep. Michael Beard, R-Shakopee, and Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan.

The smoking ban provided no accommodation for private businesses and clubs, such as ventilation systems, Beard said. 

"This bill was over the top," he said.

He said the Knights of Columbus events hall in Shakopee just spent major dollars to install a ventilation system. Fortunately the Shakopee Eagles Club, which was planning for an air exchange system, waited to start constructing a new building until legislation was finalized.

Robling, who supports the concept of the ban, changed her mind twice on the smoking bill.

She opposed the first version approved by the Senate because it was "too much too fast."

But she voted for the final version — which came out of the conference committee stronger than the House version, but weaker than the Senate — although it was less than ideal in her eyes.

"It was a very difficult decision for me," she said. "I decided pretty much at the very end."

The final bill pushed the implementation date from August to October, which Robling hopes will give taverns more time to adjust their business model, like adding food.

It also allows smoking for small home-based business-people, like truckers and farmers, unlike an earlier version, Robling said.

Robling said one of her contentions with the bill is it didn’t protect the 1,400 employees of the Mystic Lake Casino enterprise, the county’s biggest employer. However, she is hopeful the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community will voluntarily ban smoking.

To the surprise of some, Beard voted to prohibit smoking all together, on principle. If the health effects are so dangerous that a ban is needed in private businesses, he said, then the intellectually honest thing to do is prohibit smoking all-together.

Buesgens, who slammed the smoking ban during legislative debate, lent support to the prohibition argument, although he didn’t vote for it. He believes it’s hypocritical for lawmakers who support the workplace ban for health and safety reasons not to approve a total prohibition.

He believes the ban violates property rights: "Nobody ever forced anyone to walk into a bar."

Shannon Fiecke can be reached at (952) 345-6679 or sfiecke@swpub.com [2].