Florida Senate committee looks at outdoor smoking

The Florida Senate Committee on Regulated Industries Feb. 21 will consider a bill filed by Sen. Rob Bradley that would allow Sarasota County to ban smoking on publicly owned properties.

Sarasota County Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Mason will sign a Feb. 12-dated letter urging support for the bill from local representative Sen. Nancy Detert, who serves on the committee. Sen. Bill Galvano, who represents Manatee County, serves on the same committee.

Sarasota County banned smoking in parks and public beaches in 2007, but a local judge found the ordinance inconsistent with the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act in late 2012.

“The county smoking restriction on its public beaches was a critical component to Siesta Key’s beach being named No. 1 in the nation by Steve Leatherman, aka Dr. Beach in 2011,” according to the Feb. 12 letter.

State Rep. Bill Hager has sponsored a similar bill in the Florida House of Representatives, which is currently in the Health Quality Subcommittee.

Click here to view the Senate bill and here to view the House bill.