Smoking Ban in Cars Sent to Senate

Jan 22, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) A bill making it a secondary offense to smoke in a car when young children are present passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee meeting unanimously Tuesday morning. It now moves to the floor of the Senate for consideration.

Senator Scott McCoy says his bill is not an outright ban on smoking, but enforces "appropriate smoking" to avoid exposing children to toxic levels of second-hand smoke. Under the bill, smoking in a car with a child five or younger present is a $45 dollar citation. However, it is a secondary offense, so it could never be the main reason for pulling over a driver. McCoy's smoking ban was defeated last year in the Senate, in part, because of its 5-and-under age-limit.

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