By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-875214.mp3
LANSING, MI –
The Michigan Legislature has ended a year-long standoff by adopting a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, offices, factories and most other workplaces. Governor Granholm says she will sign the bill.
AUDIO:
Applause broke out on the House floor when the final vote was announced.
There would be a handful of exceptions to the smoking ban. People would still be allowed to smoke on the gaming floors of Detroit's casinos, in cigar bars and tobacco shops, home offices, and inside the cabs of freight trucks.
State Senator Raymond Basham has been pushing for a workplace smoking ban for nearly a decade. Basham says he would have preferred a more-sweeping ban that outlaws smoking in every workplace.
"I truly believe that smokers have rights, but the rights end when they go up the nose of a non-smoker," he says.
When Governor Granholm signs the bill, Michigan will be the 38th state to enact some type of ban on smoking in public places. The law would take effect May first.