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Senate narrows smoking exemptions, keeps ventilated enclosed areas but bars smoking in airport lounges; HB50 passes
Summary
After a divided-floor battle over airport lounges and enclosed smoking areas, the Utah Senate passed House Bill 50, removing an exemption for airport lounges while allowing enclosed, separately ventilated smoking areas with no food service; final passage was 20–8.
The Utah Senate voted to pass House Bill 50 on Feb. 28, 1994, after hours of floor debate over whether airport lounges should be exempted from a new statewide public‑smoking restriction. The chamber adopted amendments limiting a restored exemption to enclosed, glassed‑in smoking areas with separate ventilation and no food service, and rejected language that would permit smoking in airport lounges open to the public.
Supporters of the amendment to allow separate enclosed smoking areas argued those spaces are ventilated to the outside and used only by smokers. "There are some glassed in lounges at the airport that are for smoking only," one senator said, noting they have separate ventilation and no food service. Proponents said the change treats a special class of smoking areas consistently and preserves private, ventilated spaces.
Opponents said airport lounges are accessible to the public, can include food service and employees, and expose nonsmokers and children to secondhand smoke. "I do not want smoking in the lounge," a senator opposed to the lounge exemption said during debate, adding that the lounges are not fully enclosed and are open to the general public.
Senators divided the sponsor's motion into two parts: paragraph g (separate enclosed, ventilated smoking areas) and paragraph h (airport lounges). The Senate voted to restore the language that allows separate enclosed smoking areas while removing the lounge exemption, leaving airport lounges subject to the non‑smoking rule.
Under suspension of the rules the bill was read for the second and third time and placed for final passage. The clerk reported the final tally for House Bill 50 as 20 ayes and 8 nays; the bill passed and was sent on for further action.
The floor debate included procedural points about the division of the amendment and requests for clarification about the definition of "airport lounge" (the sponsor referenced a statutory definition in the committee amendment, "section 32a1105"). The Senate agreed to reconvene at 8:00 a.m. the next day to continue business.
What happens next: With final passage on the Senate floor, HB50 will proceed to the next steps outlined by legislative procedure and any conforming action required by the House or enrolled bill processing.
