In a nutshell

Wisconsin inns and hotels would be able to allow smoking in up to 25 percent of their rooms under a bill in the Legislature that would amend the statewide smoking ban.

The bill would permit smoking only in a hotel’s designated rooms and would not affect the ban on smoking in bars or restaurants.

Supporters of the exemption tried unsuccessfully to include it in the smoking ban signed by Gov. Jim Doyle on May 18. The ban takes effect on July 5, 2010.

The case for

State Rep. Terry Van Akkeren, D-Sheboygan, chairman of the Assembly tourism committee that is reviewing the bill, said it is necessary because all of the states around Wisconsin have similar exemptions for hotels. He said Wisconsin would be an “island” without such measures and tourism could be harmed if smokers chose to stay just in a hotel just across the border.

The committee has had a hearing on the bill but has not yet voted on it.

State Rep. Gary Sherman, D-Port Wing, author of the bill, said without the exemptions, the statewide ban creates a “trap” for people like him who become ill when exposed to secondhand smoke, but who do not know which hotel rooms have been smoked in if there are no designated rooms.

The case against

Bars and taverns deserve an exemption if hotels receive one, said Pete Madland, executive director of the Wisconsin Tavern League.

“The arguments that are being used are the same arguments we used to try to defeat the smoking ban,” Madland said, whose group fought the statewide ban for years.

Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin, said her group is neutral. She said she had some concerns about the health of workers who clean smoking rooms, but also said there is a valid public health argument for designating certain rooms for smoking.

To get involved

Van Akkeren can be contacted at 608-266-0656. Sherman can be contacted at 608-266-7690.

To contact your lawmaker to oppose or support the bill, use the legislative hot line, which is staffed from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. weekdays; call 800-362-9472 or 608-266-9960. To send an e-mail, log onto the Legislature’s Web page at www.legis.state.wi.us , select Senate or Assembly, and follow the link to the e-mail directory.

— Charles Brace