Philadelphia is now smoke-free, but don't expect the state to take a similar step anytime soon.
In the wake of Philadelphia's smoking ban - which was signed into law by Mayor John Street on Thursday - heads are now turning toward a possible statewide measure currently being considered by Pennsylvania's House of Representatives.
The House Health and Human Services Committee held a public hearing last Tuesday to discuss the possible ramifications and assess support for a comprehensive ban.
Any statewide law, if passed, would override the measure recently enacted in Philadelphia.
The renewed interest in the state bill comes after proposed state legislation stalled in a June committee vote, failing to pass on a 14-14 tie.
At that point, both the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association and the Pennsylvania Tavern Association opposed the bill.
Since then, however, the Restaurant Association has switched course and now supports the measure, citing growing employee health concerns, Restaurant Association CEO Pat Conway said.
Conway said that the organization does not support local bans but that "the right approach would be for the state government to pass a smoking ban to protect all workers and thereby give all businesses a level playing field."
The committee will most likely hold another public hearing in the coming weeks and try to ease the concerns of the Tavern Association, the only major player still opposed to the bill, said Sandra Bennett, spokeswoman for Democratic committee chairman Frank Oliver (D-Phila.).
At that point, the bill would most likely be voted on by the committee and, if passed, would then be brought to the floor of the House for another vote.
But most involved with the process call that scenario unlikely.
Both Conway and subcommittee chairman on human services Kerry Benninghoff (R-Bellefonte) said that due to the general election in November and a short legislative schedule, there would be little chance anything would pass before the end of the year.
"There's a chance it would get out of committee," Benninghoff said. "But I'm not guaranteeing it's going to get past the floor."
Conway said that while he doubts legislation will pass immediately, he thinks some bill will pass within the next two years.
"We believe it's coming. We believe it will come eventually. It's just more a question of when rather than if," Conway said.
Legislators also maintain that key differences between the city and the state mean that a Pennsylvania ban is not necessarily imminent.
"What happens in an urban center is not a very good indicator of what's going to happen in the rest of the state," said state Rep. James Roebuck, who represents Penn's district. "Pennsylvania is one of the most rural states in the country, and given the diversity of the state, there is no single indicator" of legislation.
Roebuck added that the recently passed ban in New Jersey - which went into effect in April - also suggests little of how Pennsylvania legislators will act.
"I think New Jersey is a very different state than Pennsylvania," he said. "There isn't anything to suggest that anything that happens in New Jersey would happen here."
And with the Tavern Association keeping up the heat, it may be even more difficult to pass a comprehensive bill.
"If it would not have been for some serious grassroots effort by our licensees across the state, then the [June committee] vote probably would have passed," Tavern Association executive director Amy Christie said. "Grassroots efforts are sure to be key."
