La Fouch Parish Council rescinds smoke-free ordinance after extended public hearing

The La Fouch Parish Council voted April 28 to rescind Ordinance 7091, the smoke-free rule the council adopted in January, after an extended public hearing that drew business owners, casino operators, public-health advocates and workers.

Supporters of the ordinance said it protects workers and patrons from secondhand smoke. "The science has not changed in the past two months. There is still no safe level of secondhand smoke," Emily Crup told the council during public comment. Representatives of the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society also urged the council to keep the ordinance, arguing that comprehensive smoke-free laws reduce disease and hospital admissions.

Opponents including several local bar and casino owners and bartenders told the council the ban would reduce revenues, cost jobs and send customers to neighboring parishes that still allow indoor smoking. "If y'all ban smoking, that means I'm not selling cigarettes," Janie Trosclair, a local bar owner, said. Casino operators cited prior local examples where they said revenues fell after indoor smoking bans and later recovered only after repeal.

Council members debated enforcement feasibility, the scope of the original ordinance and whether the parish government was overreaching into private business decisions. Several councilors said the ban had been public for months and that the present push to rescind reflected latter-stage constituent pressure; others said protecting worker health was their priority. After deliberation the chair announced the motion to rescind had passed; the result was read in open session as six yays and two nays.

The ordinance the council rescinded had been adopted earlier in the year; members who supported that initial vote said the decision to repeal was difficult and reflected competing priorities between public health and economic concerns for small businesses and gaming operators. The administration did not propose an alternative enforcement plan; councilors and speakers repeatedly emphasized that employees who object to workplace conditions could seek work at non-smoking venues, though health advocates countered that many workers lack that option.

The meeting record shows the council opened and closed public comment on the item and then returned to the dais for debate and votes. The council took no immediate compensatory measures for workers as part of the repeal; a number of health organizations said they would continue outreach and education in the parish. The council moved on to other business after the vote; no stay or interim rule was announced at the meeting.

The next procedural step is for the clerk to publish the council's action in the official minutes and to update the parish code to reflect the ordinance's repeal. Council members said they expected the issue to remain politically salient in upcoming local campaigning and community discussions.