HF 1451

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to smoking; prohibiting smoking in 
  1.3             workplaces; providing for smoke-free areas in 
  1.4             multitenant buildings; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2002, sections 144.413, subdivision 2; 144.414, 
  1.6             subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 144.415; 
  1.7             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.8             chapter 144. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 144.413, 
  1.11  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [PUBLIC PLACE.] "Public place" means any 
  1.13  enclosed, indoor area used by the general public or serving as a 
  1.14  place of work, including, but not limited to, restaurants, 
  1.15  retail stores, offices and other commercial establishments, 
  1.16  public conveyances, educational facilities other than public 
  1.17  schools, as defined in section 120A.05, subdivisions 9, 11, and 
  1.18  13, hospitals, nursing homes, auditoriums, arenas, meeting 
  1.19  rooms, and common areas of rental apartment buildings, but 
  1.20  excluding private, enclosed offices occupied exclusively by 
  1.21  smokers even though such offices may be visited by nonsmokers. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 144.414, 
  1.23  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [PUBLIC PLACES.] No person shall smoke in a 
  1.25  public place or at a public meeting except in designated smoking 
  1.26  areas.  This prohibition does not apply in cases in which an 
  1.27  entire room or hall is used for a private social function and 
  2.1   seating arrangements are under the control of the sponsor of the 
  2.2   function and not of the proprietor or person in charge of the 
  2.3   place.  Furthermore, this prohibition shall not apply to places 
  2.4   of work not usually frequented by the general public, except 
  2.5   that the state commissioner of health shall establish rules to 
  2.6   restrict or prohibit smoking in factories, warehouses, and those 
  2.7   places of work where the close proximity of workers or the 
  2.8   inadequacy of ventilation causes smoke pollution detrimental to 
  2.9   the health and comfort of nonsmoking employees that persons may 
  2.10  smoke in the designated smoking areas of bars and restaurants.  
  2.11     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 144.414, is 
  2.12  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 4.  [SMOKE-FREE DESIGNATION IN MULTITENANT 
  2.14  BUILDINGS.] (a) In any multitenant building having a common 
  2.15  heating, ventilating, or air conditioning (HVAC) system serving 
  2.16  more than one occupant, the building owner or lessor may 
  2.17  designate the parts of the building served by the common system 
  2.18  as smoke free.  The area designated smoke free must include all 
  2.19  areas served by the common system, except that:  (1) any area 
  2.20  subject to exemption pursuant to paragraph (b) need not be 
  2.21  included; and (2) any area may be excluded from the designation 
  2.22  with the consent of all occupants.  No occupant of a multitenant 
  2.23  building shall designate a smoking area in a place designated by 
  2.24  the owner or lessor as smoke free. 
  2.25     (b) If an occupant's lease agreement explicitly provides 
  2.26  that smoking is permitted in the tenant's leasehold, then that 
  2.27  leasehold is exempt from any smoke-free designation by the 
  2.28  building owner or lessor.  In such a leasehold, the occupant has 
  2.29  the same rights and obligations with respect to designation of 
  2.30  smoking areas that the owner would otherwise have under this 
  2.31  section. 
  2.32     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 144.415, is 
  2.33  amended to read: 
  2.34     144.415 [DESIGNATION OF BAR AND RESTAURANT SMOKING AREAS.] 
  2.35     (a) Smoking areas may be designated by proprietors or other 
  2.36  persons in charge of public places bars and restaurants, except 
  3.1   in places in which smoking is prohibited by the fire marshal or 
  3.2   by other law, ordinance or rule. 
  3.3      (b) Where smoking areas are designated, existing physical 
  3.4   barriers and ventilation systems shall be used to minimize the 
  3.5   toxic effect of smoke in adjacent nonsmoking areas.  In the case 
  3.6   of public places consisting of a single room, the provisions of 
  3.7   this law shall be considered met if one side of the room is 
  3.8   reserved and posted as a no smoking area those areas must meet 
  3.9   the standards for smoke containment established by the 
  3.10  commissioner according to section 144.4155.  No public place 
  3.11  other than a bar or restaurant shall be designated as a smoking 
  3.12  area in its entirety.  If a bar is designated as a smoking area 
  3.13  in its entirety, this designation shall be posted conspicuously 
  3.14  on all entrances normally used by the public.  
  3.15     Sec. 5.  [144.4151] [EMPLOYEE RIGHTS IN SMOKING AREAS.] 
  3.16     (a) No employer may assign an employee to enter a 
  3.17  designated smoking area unless: 
  3.18     (1) the employer informs the employee that the area is a 
  3.19  designated smoking area and that the employee is not required to 
  3.20  enter it; and 
  3.21     (2) the employee gives the employee's consent after the 
  3.22  disclosure.  
  3.23     (b) No employer may terminate the employment of an 
  3.24  employee, alter the hours worked or wage received by an 
  3.25  employee, or otherwise retaliate against an employee based on 
  3.26  the employee's refusal to enter the designated smoking area. 
  3.27     Sec. 6.  [144.4155] [STANDARDS FOR SMOKE CONTAINMENT.] 
  3.28     (a) The commissioner of health shall, by rule, establish 
  3.29  standards for the creation of smoking areas that ensure that 
  3.30  persons outside the designated smoking areas are not exposed to 
  3.31  tobacco smoke.  The standards may include barrier requirements, 
  3.32  ventilation requirements, limits on the size of a designated 
  3.33  smoking area, requirements related to entrances and exits to and 
  3.34  from a designated smoking area, and any other requirements the 
  3.35  commissioner deems necessary. 
  3.36     (b) The standards established under this section must, at a 
  4.1   minimum, require physical barriers separating a designated 
  4.2   smoking area from the rest of an establishment and must require 
  4.3   that those physical barriers completely enclose the smoking area.