Will AG's smoking ban opinion come in time?

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BY JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

It made it through a filibuster, two rounds of debate and serious compromise.

The question now is whether the lack of a timely response from Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning’s office will threaten a final vote on a statewide smoking ban.

Talk circulated around the Capitol Wednesday that a legal opinion requested on the opt-out portion of the bill would not make it out of Bruning’s office until after the session winds down at the end of May.

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Jon Bruning

Jon Bruning

The bill (LB395), introduced by Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney, would ban smoking from indoor work sites, including bars and restaurants, but would allow cities, counties, villages and unincorporated areas to opt out — in whole or in part — with a vote of the local governing body or by a voter petition.

The opt-out clause was a key compromise that allowed the bill to pass on second reading.

Omaha Sen. John Nelson asked the attorney general’s office for an informal legal opinion on a bill this session and was told it would take four to six weeks.

On Wednesday, Bruning’s office would not discuss any timeline on the opinion.

“We view every request as important,” said spokeswoman Holley Hatt. “We respond to every request as quickly as we can.”

On Thursday, Hatt said the attorney general’s office would respond to the Legislature’s request on the smoking ban bill “as quickly as we can.”

After the bill made it through second reading last week on a 35-4 vote, senators said they would seek an attorney general’s opinion before final reading on whether a county could pass a binding ordinance to opt out of the ban.

Johnson asked for the opinion this week. If it can’t be issued in this session, he said, maybe senators should get back to talking about the bill as it was originally written — without the opt-out clause.

“I think the Legislature should deal with this,” he said. “If we don’t, there’s always the potential that those who agree with us will do it by petition.”

Senators were sent to deal with these kinds of issues, he said, and “that’s what we should do.”

Speaker Mike Flood said he and others would consider the possibility of a delay on the opinion over the Easter break and try to decide next week what will happen with the bill.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.