ORD 1987-33 - Smoking 10-27-1987ORDINANCE NO. 87 -33
ADDING A CHAPTER TO THE CODE OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE,
TEXAS, TO REGULATE SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES;
DESIGNATING CERTAIN RETAIL AND SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS,
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS AS NONSMOKING
AREAS; PROVIDING SIGN REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING MINIMUM
STANDARDS FOR NONSMOKING AREAS; REQUIRING THE POSTING
OF SIGNS REGARDING SMOKING AND NONSMOKING AREAS;
REQUIRING WRITTEN POLICIES IMPLEMENTING THIS CHAPTER;
PROHIBITING SMOKING IN DESIGNATED NONSMOKING AREAS;
PROVIDING EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF
SMOKING IN WORKPLACES; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE IS
CUMULATIVE OF ALL ORDINANCES; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE:
SECTION 1. That the City Code of the City of Huntsville, Texas, is amended by
adding a new Chapter 14 to be entitled, "SMOKING ", that shall read as follows:
"SMOKING"
SEC.14 -1. DEFINITIONS
In this Chapter:
(1) ADMINISTRATIVE AREA means the area of an establishment not
generally accessible to the public, including but not limited to
individual offices, stockrooms, employee lounges, or meeting rooms.
(2) DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the
City Manager to enforce and administer this chapter or the
director's designated representative.
(3) EMPLOYEE means any person who is employed by any employer for
direct or indirect monetary wages or profit, or is in a position
that would lead one to believe that such person is so employed.
(4) EMPLOYER means any person, partnership, corporation, association or
other entity, that employs one or more persons.
ORDINANCE NO. 87 -33
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(5) ENCLOSED means closed in by a roof and walls with appropriate
openings for ingress and egress, but does not include areas
commonly described as public lobbies.
(6) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT means any operation defined as such in Chapter
8 -A of this code.
(7) HOSPITAL means any institution that provides medical, surgical, and
overnight facilities for patients.
(8) MOVIE THEATER means any establishment engaged in the business of
exhibiting motions pictures to the public.
(9) RETAIL AND SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT means any establishment that
offers goods or services for sale to the general public.
(10) PUBLIC SERVICE AREA means any area to which the general public
routinely has access for municipal services or which is designated
a public service area in a written policy.
(11) PUBLIC PLACE means any enclosed indoor area that may be used by the
general public, and includes, but is not limited to: stores,
offices, and other commercial establishments; restaurants; public
and private institutions of higher education; and health care
facilities.
(12) SERVICE LINE means any indoor line at which one or more persons are
waiting for or receiving service of any kind, whether or not such
service involves the exchange of money.
(13) SMOKE or SMOKING includes the carrying or holding of a lighted
pipe, cigar or cigarette of any kind, or any other lighted smoking
equipment or device, and the lighting of, emitting or exhaling the
smoke of a pipe, cigar or cigarette of any kind.
(14) WORKPLACE means any enclosed area of a structure, or portion
thereof, intended for occupancy by employees who provide primarily
clerical, professional, or business services of a business entity,
or which provide primarily clerical, professional, or business
services to other business entities, or to the public, at that
location. The enclosed indoor area under the control of the
employer shall include those areas to which employees have access
during the course of employment, including, but not limited to work
areas, employee lounges, employee restrooms, employee conference
rooms, and employee cafeterias. A private residence is not a place
of employment.
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SEC. 14 -2. SMOKING PROHIBITED IN CERTAIN PUBLIC AREAS.
(a) A person commits an offense if he smokes or possesses a burning tobacco,
weed or other plant product, or any lighted or burning pipe, cigar,
cigarette of any kind, or smoking equipment or device in any of the
following indoor or enclosed areas;
(1) an elevator used or that may be used by the public;
(2) a hospital or nursing home corridor providing direct access to
patients' rooms;
(3) any conference room, meeting room, or public service area of any
facility owned, operated, or managed by the City, except those
conference rooms and meeting rooms that are not generally open to
the public;
(4) a room in which meetings and /or hearings are open to the public;
(5) all retail or service establishments and financial institutions
serving the general public, including, but not limited to, any
department store, grocery store, drug store, clothing store, shoe
store, hardware store, bank, savings and loan, laundromat, hair
salon or barbershop and shall include all public areas and waiting
rooms of public transportation facilities, including but not
limited to, bus, and airport facilities, provided that smoking may
be allowed in the common areas of the shopping mall;
(6) an area marked with a no smoking sign in accordance with Subsection
(b) by the owner or person in control of a hospital, nursing home,
or retail or service establishment serving the general public; or
(7) any facility of a public primary or secondary school; an enclosed
theater or motion picture theater, library, museum; or
transportation vehicles, such as buses and taxicabs, except on
chartered buses for private hire or in taxicabs clearly designated
by the operator to permit smoking.
(b) The owner or person in control of an establishment or area designated in
Subsection (a) of this section shall post a sign, conspicuous to ordinary
public view, at or near each public entrance to the establishment. The
sign shall contain the words "NO SMOKING EXCEPT IN DESIGNATED AREAS, CITY
OF HUNTSVILLE ORDINANCE" the universal symbol for no smoking, or other
language that clearly prohibits smoking.
ORDINANCE NO. 87 -33
Page 4
(c) Every Hospital shall:
(1) allow all patients, prior to elective admission, to choose to be in
a no smoking patient room; and
(2) require that employees or visitors obtain express approval from all
patients in a patient room prior to smoking.
(d) The owner or person in control of an establishment or area described in
Subsection (a)(5) or (a)(7) of Section 14 -2 may designate an area,
including but not limited to lobbies, meeting rooms, waiting rooms, or
lounges, as a smoking area; provided that the designated smoking area may
not:
(1) include the entire establishment;
(2) include cashier areas, over the counter service or sales areas, or
service lines;
(3) include the viewing area of any theater or motion picture theater;
or
(4) be larger in size than 30% of the common area of the establishment.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section if the person was
smoking:
(1) in a location that is a designated smoking area of a facility or
establishment described in Subsection (a)(5) or (a)(7) of this
section which is posted as a Designated Smoking area with
appropriate signs;
(2) in a location that is an administrative area or office area of an
establishment described in Subsection (a)(5) or (a)(7) of this
section;
(3) in a location that is a retail or service establishment serving the
general public with less than 750 square feet of public showroom or
service space or having only one employee on duty, unless posted as
designated in Subsection (a)(6) of this section;
(4) in a location that is a retail or service establishment which is
primarily engaged in the sale of tobacco, tobacco products or
smoking implements;
(5) in a retail or service establishment which is a food establishment
regulated by Section 3; or
(6) as a participant in an authorized theatrical performance.
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SEC. 14.3. REGULATION OF SMOKING IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
(a) A food establishment that has indoor or enclosed dining areas shall
provide separate indoor or enclosed dining areas for smoking and
nonsmoking patrons.
(b) A smoking area must:
(1) be separated from the nonsmoking areas by a minimum of four feet of
contiguous floor space, a partition, or a wall;
(2) be ventilated and situated so that air from the smoking area is not
drawn into or across the nonsmoking area, or the smoking area shall
be separately ventilated, unless 50% or more of the dining area is
designated as a nonsmoking area;
(3) be clearly designated by appropriate signs visible to patrons
within the dining area indicating that the area is designated
nonsmoking; and
(4) have ash trays or other suitable containers for extinguishing
smoking materials at the perimeter of the nonsmoking area.
(5) that the smoking area must not be larger than 70% of the dining
area.
(c) Each food establishment that has a dining area shall:
(1) have and implement a written policy on smoking which conforms to
this chapter;
(2) make the policy available for inspection by employees and the
director or his authorized representatives; and
(3) have signs, conspicuous to ordinary public view, at each public
entrance to the establishment indicating that nonsmoking seating is
available.
(d) Nondining areas of any food establishment affected by this section to
which patrons have general access, including, but not limited to, food
order areas, food service areas and restrooms, shall be designated as
nonsmoking areas.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the food
establishment is:
(1) an establishment which has indoor seating arrangements for less
than 50 patrons;
(2) an establishment which has more than 70 percent of its annual gross
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Page 6
sales in alcoholic beverages, and a sign, conspicuous to ordinary
public view, at each public entrance to the establishment contains
the words "This Establishment Does Not Provide For A Non-Smoking
Section"; or
(3) a physically separated bar area of a food establishment otherwise
regulated.
(f) A person commits an offense if he smokes or possesses a burning tobacco,
weed, or other plant product, or any lighted or burning pipe, cigar,
cigarette of any kind, or smoking device in an area of a food products
establishment designated as non-smoking.
SEC. 14.4. REGULATION OF SMOKING IN THE WORKPLACE.
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2 and 3, any employer may
designate any workplace, or portion thereof, as a nonsmoking area. Any
employer who chooses to designate any workplace, or portion thereof, as a
nonsmoking area shall:
(1) have and implement a written policy on smoking which conforms to
this Chapter;
(2) make the policy available for inspection by employees and the
director of his authorized representatives;
(3)
prominently display reasonably sized signs conspicuous to ordinary
public view, indicating that smoking is prohibited; and
(4) provide facilities in sufficient numbers and at such locations to
be readily accessible, for the extinguishment of smoking materials.
Section 2: Any person, firm, or corporation violating any provisions of
this Ordinance or failing to comply with any requirement of this
Ordinance will be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of
up to Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) upon conviction. Each day
during or upon which said person shall violate or continue
violation of any provision of this Ordinance or non-compliance
with any requirement of this Ordinance shall constitute a distinct
and separate offense. The violation of any provision of this
Ordinance or the failure to comply with any requirement of this
Ordinance shall each constitute a distinct and separate offense.
Section 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of
this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional,
such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent
provision and such holding shall not affect any of the remaining
provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 4: All Ordinances and parts of Ordinances in conflict with the
provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed; provided,
however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of such
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Page 7
inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be
cumulative of other Ordinances regulating and governing the
subject matter covered by this Ordinance.
Section 5: The City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this
Ordinance to be published at least twice within ten days of final
passage. This ordinance shall take effect sixty (60) days after
the date of final passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 27th day of OCTOBER , 1987.
th DeShaw, City ecretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Scott Bounds, City Attorney
THE CITY OF HUNTSVILLE
BY . r vi -a1„. aYli
Jane Monday, Mayor /