Streetsboro smoking law doesn’t look right
It doesn’t look right because it isn’t.
STREETSBORO — An outdated ordinance left untouched, until now, would allow residents to smoke on city-owned property. The local ordinance is in direct conflict with Ohio law and has been for nearly eight years.
Streetsboro’s smoking ordinance dates back to 1993. According to the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio residents voted on Ohio’s Smoke-Free Workplace Act, or Issue 5, in November of 2006. The statute prohibited smoking in all public places and places of employment in Ohio. The law passed in December of 2006 and took effect May 3, 2007. (The language in the Ohio Revised Code defines “smoking”, “public place”, “place of employment”, etc.)
Perhaps most relevant to the issue in Streetsboro, “The law and rules for the State pre-empt any less restrictive local ordinances dealing with smoking,” according to ODH.
However, as discovered in a safety committee meeting at City Council Nov. 10, 2014, Streetsboro has a less restrictive ordinance anyway.
“To tell you the truth, in the seven years that I’ve been working and supervising the program I have never seen this before,” said Mandy Burkett, Chief, Tobacco and Indoor Environments Section at the Ohio Department of Health.
Confirmed by Burkett, there are two sections of the Streetsboro smoking ordinance that are not in compliance with state law. The language allows the mayor to designate smoking areas inside of city-owned buildings. Streetsboro Mayor Glenn Broska said in the three years he has been mayor of the city, he has not allowed any employees to smoke inside city-owned property.
“We have never, ever, ever allowed smoking in any of the city buildings,” said Broska. “I know that the smokers that are in this building [city hall] actively move away from the doors and the exits so as not to intrude….I can speak with 100 percent certainty that on my watch, there has never been smoking allowed inside city buildings.”
However, the mayor’s privilege to designate smoking areas wasn’t yet brought to light at the Nov. 10 meeting. Old business was on the agenda to discuss smoking on city owned property when another flaw caught the eye of Councilman John Ruediger. Ruediger, chair of the safety committee, sparked a conversation after announcing that allowing employees to smoke in city-owned vehicles is against Ohio Revised Code.
“We ended up having to have a long discussion about it,” Ruediger said. “What we were trying to pass tonight was a new ordinance that we were putting on the books that was in direct contrast with the state of Ohio, which was ridiculous to even try to do.”
Streetsboro’s ordinance allows an employee to smoke inside of a city-owned vehicle, but only if he or she is the only individual in the vehicle at the time. State law says if the vehicle is shared between smokers and non-smokers, smoking is prohibited, even if an employee is alone in the vehicle.
City Council plans to formally introduce legislation at the Nov. 24 meeting that would put the city ordinance back in compliance with Ohio law.
View the current Streetsboro ordinance:
Compare the legislation to *Ohio law:
At 5:30 – My report on a local #smoking law in conflict with state law: the health risks and why city leaders have allowed it #PortageCounty
— Kaitlynn LeBeau (@WSAZKaitlynn) November 24, 2014
Ohio Revised Code does not allow even individual to smoke in work vehicle. Proposed city legislation would allow 1 person #prevtweet @TV2KSU
— Kaitlynn LeBeau (@WSAZKaitlynn) November 11, 2014
Streetsboro Safety Committee discussing smoking on city property. Proposed city law has potential state law conflict @TV2KSU
— Kaitlynn LeBeau (@WSAZKaitlynn) November 11, 2014
