Cigarticles
CW Present at Texas Senate Committee Smoking BAN Hearing
Austin, Texas
April 17, 2009
Just this past Tuesday, The Texas Senate’s Health & Human Services Committee was holding a public hearing on SB 544, which essentially would eliminate smoking in all buildings and public areas in the State of Texas. My best guess is that there were about 40-50 folks attending who opposed the ban; not all of us were at the same place at the same time, so there could have been more or less. When most of us were actually on the floor of the Senate chamber, it looked like a big group! Early in the morning we met with the consultant (lobbyist) for the Texas Retail Cigar Merchants; he has been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work in an attempt to secure an exemption to the bill for cigar bars, cigar lounges, retail shops, etc.
The Committee was hearing 18 bills that day and the Chairperson decided that because there were so many people in attendance on SB 544, she would hold our discussion until last (government logic at its best). So, what was scheduled for 9:00 am actually got underway around 5:00pm. We were able to register our positions “For” or “Against” the bill and whether or not we wanted to testify (limited to 3 minutes for each of us) by filling out a registration card which was submitted to the Senate Clerk. There were 144 cards submitted, and the majority of them were “against.”
The other side had some pretty heavy hitters, which included a group of cardiovascular doctors, representatives from the AMA, American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society, among others. They even flew one guy in from Washington, DC as an “expert.” They testified on their views of second-hand smoke, the carcinogens in cigarettes, had a bleeding heart mother pleading for the health of her daughter, the typical ideas in support of banning smoking. They also tried to stress the point that there would be no negative economic impact caused by enacting smoking-ban legislation.
Our side had a good cross-section of witnesses, too. There were a few doctors, several cigar shop owners and shop employees, cigar lounge and bar owners, cigar distributors, manufacturers’ representatives, and a quite a bunch of us, just pissed-off citizens. Our folks stressed the significant differences between cigars and cigarettes, the negative effects already felt by the SCHIP legislation and the severe negative impact the legislation would have on people whose livelihood depends upon the cigar and tobacco industry. We also discussed the possible effect that the reduction in state sales tax revenues Texas would face if this ban moved more people to purchase via the internet, etc. In answer to the fact that a number of states have already enacted similar bans, several folks hammered the Texas theme of “Since when do we give a damn what they do in New York or California?” The committee members were also encouraged by one of our speakers “To remember who elected you and who can take you out!” It actually made for good theater. The bottom line was that we needed the committee (at a minimum) to provide exceptions for the cigar business and we recommended that they not even vote the bill out of the committee.
The session wrapped up about 6:15 pm or so, and there was no vote on the bill. A few of our folks were able to get some time with Senator Rodney Ellis, the author of the bill to educate him on some of the finer points of our arguments. We will still need to watch this very closely, but the general feeling (hope) was that, at a minimum, he will re-write some of the provisions and even if it gets out of committee, that it will contain exemptions for cigar lounges, B&Ms, and other retail tobacco businesses.
The lobbyist explained that in Texas, the Senate really is the enemy. The House is much more attuned to our side and that unless the Senate actually passes the bill, the House may not even hold any hearings on a parallel bill submitted there. If the Senate does pass it, he hoped the House version could be soundly defeated and never make it to Governor Rick Perry’s desk (he’s busy anyway with Texas’ secession plans).
Although it was an agonizing day, I was glad I went and was happy to do my part to stand up for our rights to enjoy our hobby and legal pastime. It was somewhat frustrating to see the wheels of the legislature in action (I use the term loosely), and I was left with the distinct feeling that even though they heard the testimony, they were, to a large degree, just going through the motions and had already made up their minds. Maybe I’m just a natural cynic -- who knows?
Originally posted on a thread in the Smokin Post, Cigar Weekly Community Forums and Discussion Groups, you can click here to read the original posting and add your own comments.
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Neil Noffsinger (Road Hawg) is a retired sales executive from the semiconductor industry and enjoys life with his wife Gail in Spring, Texas. The seven years since retirement have been filled with motorcycles and travel to all corners of the U.S. and Canada. He has been on 2 wheels in 49 states (missed Hawaii) and typically enjoys a quality cigar at the end of the day -- or before breakfast when in Honduras!