Irvine : Council to Continue to Explore Smoking Laws

Picking up where it left off nearly two months ago, the City Council tonight will examine smoking ordinances enacted in several California cities, including Laguna Beach, to determine if laws that regulate smoking in the workplace can be adapted to Irvine.

After a brief public hearing and some debate May 14 over whether a smoking ordinance would infringe on the rights of employers who would be required to comply with such a law, the council directed the city staff to look into similar ordinances in other cities.

Although the City Council will not be voting on an actual ordinance, the information that will be presented tonight could be used in drafting a smoking ordinance similar to those recently approved in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.

Both cities’ ordinances prohibit smoking in hospitals, elevators, public meeting rooms, theaters and other public places, and also require private businesses to establish and enforce written smoking rules.

Should the council ask the city attorney to draw up a smoking ordinance, it would require both a preliminary and a final vote before it could become law.