Lawmakers, governor question nonsmoking rule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma's Board of Health overstepped its authority when it voted to ban smoking in most public places, state lawmakers said Monday. <br><br>``We as the Legislature ought to set

Tuesday, March 26th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma's Board of Health overstepped its authority when it voted to ban smoking in most public places, state lawmakers said Monday.

``We as the Legislature ought to set policy. That's our job,'' said Rep. Dan Webb, R-Oklahoma City, a member of a legislative committee that will decide whether to accept or reject the rule.

Gov. Frank Keating, who also can reject the rule, said he wants to know whether the board is authorized by law or the state constitution to adopt a rule that may conflict with existing law.

``It's strictly a legal issue,'' Keating said.

The rule bans smoking in a variety of private businesses, including restaurants. In spite of reservations over the rule, Keating said he would sign legislation to ban smoking in public places if it were passed by the House and Senate.

``I am viscerally in favor of a smoking ban in restaurants,'' said Keating, a nonsmoker.

Webb said he has prepared a bill to reject the Board of Health's rule and will present it to the House Administrative Rule Review Committee when it meets next week.

``I think they overstepped their statutory authority,'' he said.

A lawmaker who is studying the board's rule-making authority, Rep. Odilia Dank, R-Oklahoma City, said she is less concerned about the effect of the rule than the legal issue of whether the board can adopt it.

But Dr. Ron Graves, president of the Board of Health, said debate over the legality of the rule should not overshadow its purpose of protecting Oklahomans from secondhand smoke.

``I would hope that this would not serve as an impediment to a ruling that would benefit the public,'' said Graves, an oral surgeon from Ardmore.

Graves said smoking-related illnesses are the leading cause of preventable death in Oklahoma and that the state ranks ninth in the nation in deaths from tobacco-related illnesses.

He said existing laws that allow smoking in public places were written before the effects of secondhand smoke were fully known.

``The effects of smoking are having a much greater impact on the population of Oklahoma than it is in other states,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of a separate legislative committee said he will announce Tuesday whether to hear Senate-passed legislation that would ban smoking in the state Capitol.

Last month, a committee headed by Rep. Lloyd Fields, D-McAlester, refused to consider a bill opposed by tobacco lobbyists that would prohibit smoking in public places.

But Fields, a smoker, said he is more inclined to hear the bill by Sen. Ben Robinson, D-Muskogee. Currently, lawmakers can smoke in their Capitol offices although smoking is banned in many other public buildings.

Lawmakers may consider a smoking ban at the Capitol out of concern over liability issues from employees and visitors who encounter secondhand smoke.

A legislative assistant assigned to Rep. Carolyn Coleman, R-Moore, announced her resignation last week over health problems aggravated by secondhand smoke.

Coleman said she seek remedies through the Workers Compensation System, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor.