It's been an on-again, off-again ordinance, the proposed smoking ban in South Bend. The Council has come up with delay after delay. And Monday night they voted to continue that delay indefinitely.
But it was another proposed smoking ordinance that did pass. Bill 21-12, drafted by David Varner from the fifth district, is a little more comprehensive than the state wide ban that went into affect on July 1st. This new bill will require restaurants and bars that allow smoking to post a uniformed sign on their entry way to let customers know they are entering a smoking establishment. Varner says the sign will be a free downloadable picture from the state website.
It didn't pass without opposition (6-3), the three council members who voted against the bill are co-contributors to the South Bend city wide ban that was continued indefinitely. They say what that means is that the bill will remain in the council's unfinished business until a member brings it back into order to be voted on. They expect that to happen at some point early in 2013.
