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Local public-health staff introduce draft Clean Indoor Air Act amendment, board schedules hearings
Summary
Granite County health staff introduced a draft amendment to the Clean Indoor Air Act that would add a 30-foot buffer and other clarifications; the board agreed the language needs review and that required public hearings and newspaper notices must precede adoption.
Amanda, Granite County tobacco-prevention staff, introduced a draft amendment to the local Clean Indoor Air Act and asked the board to review the first-draft language before public hearings.
The draft, Amanda said, incorporates model language from the state protocol and text from Anaconda and Powell County and includes a proposed 30-foot distance restriction around business entrances. "This is just the day that we introduce the first draft of language," Amanda said, adding she will work with Blaine to walk the board through next steps.
Why it matters: the proposed amendment is intended to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke at building entrances and align local rules with recent practices in neighboring counties. Amanda said the change would not substantially alter the board's enforcement workload but would require outreach to local businesses and a public-notice and hearing process.
Board members clarified the procedural path. A staff message from Blaine, read at the meeting, explained that the ordinance must be preceded by public notice in the local newspaper (with timing that satisfies statutory gaps between readings) and that a public hearing is required. Amanda told the board the document will be edited for grammar and legal form and recommended placement on the next board-of-health agenda for a public hearing and potential first reading.
A commissioner asked whether the language should be adopted via a county ordinance or a board-of-health ordinance; staff advised the board-of-health route is appropriate for health-regulation matters. Amanda said she will follow up to confirm legal details and will provide a corrected draft for the board to place on a public-hearing agenda.
Next steps: staff will refine the draft, confirm the public-notice schedule, and place the item on the next board-of-health agenda for a public hearing and possible adoption. The board did not take a final vote on the ordinance at the June 16 meeting.
"I feel like that this is just the day that we introduce the first draft of language," Amanda told the board, and she asked members to review the draft in advance of the public-hearing schedule.
