Senate approves bill to curb smoke in grocery stores

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Wednesday, April 7, 1999 | 5:18 a.m.

SB421, now going to the Assembly, was sought by the grocery industry in a preemptive strike against AB502, introduced by Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, R-Reno. That bill would bar smoking in the stores' slot areas.

Many Nevada grocery stores have the slot arcades, typically near check-out stands.

That gauntlet of slots where smoking is allowed would be phased out rather under SB421, a bill that grocers, slot machine and smoking industries support.

New stores would have to build an alcove for slots that's separate from the rest of the store.

Jim Avance, lobbyist for the Slot Operators Association, said during a committee hearing on the measure that putting slots in alcoves will cut into his clients' profits, but they still support the bill.