An effort to outlaw smoking in California’s state parks has
struggled since it was first introduced in Sacramento a year and a
half ago.
An effort to outlaw smoking in California’s state parks has struggled since it was first introduced in Sacramento a year and a half ago.
Concerns about how the ban could be enforced led to delays with the legislation last year, and this year worries over cost and the rights of smokers have dampened its support in the Legislature. On Thursday, the smoking ban came up five votes short of approval in the Assembly.
“Some people think that in the larger scheme this is not the most critical issue facing the people of California,” said Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who was among the minority who supported the proposed legislation Thursday.
But the bill’s author, Long Beach state senator and cancer survivor Jenny Oropeza, said the fight for the ban is not over. She plans to bring the legislation back to the floor as soon as Monday. Her staff and several observers say key absences in the chamber Thursday, including the influential Assembly speaker, will mean a whole new dynamic for next week’s vote.
“Usually when you’re that close and there’s people absent, you can round up the votes at a later time,” Monning said.
The bill, SB 4, has changed slightly since its 2008 inception, mostly to accommodate the wishes of State Parks staff. It now excludes campgrounds and parking lots from the smoking restriction and drops the fine from $250 to $100.
In Santa Cruz County, where State Parks is the largest landowner, many favor a smoking ban. Groups such as Save Our Shores and the Surfrider Foundation, which work to keep beaches free of cigarette butts, have pushed hard for the law.
Supporters cite not just the adverse health effects of smoking but the fire danger that smoking presents and the environmental harm the butts can have, particularly on marine life.
The proposed legislation, which would officially take effect next year, allows individual state parks and beaches to implement the smoking ban when their managers see fit. Signs would have to be erected as a first step toward enforcing the new rule.
Oropeza’s office says the point of the legislation is not to add staffing or cost burdens for parks, but to keep the parks healthy.
The Senate has already passed the legislation, and Oropeza has said she expects the governor will sign the bill if it wins Assembly approval.
