Editorial: Children’s health is the loser

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

On Wednesday the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved Senate legislation that would let school districts impose tougher regulations on smoking than currently allowed by state law. But the Senate legislation is a far cry from what voters in Clark and Washoe counties recommended in anti-smoking ballot questions that passed overwhelmingly in November. Not only did the voters in Nevada's two most populous counties urge the Legislature to pass a law giving local health districts more power to regulate smoking, they also recommended that the Legislature bar secondhand smoke in places where children can be found -- supermarkets, convenience marts, drug stores, restaurants and schools.

It's a shame that the Assembly Judiciary Committee didn't amend the Senate's bill and recommend legislation that would protect children from harmful secondhand smoke in public places. The full Assembly has yet to vote on the legislation, but it is all but certain that it will follow the Judiciary Committee's recommendation, guaranteeing that the final bill won't come close to what the people want.

Many members of the Nevada Legislature talk about how critical it is to be responsive to their constituents and why it's so important to let local governments have more autonomy in governing their own affairs. But the state legislators' refusal to take steps that could curb secondhand smoke shows just how out of touch they can be at times. It's ridiculous that a Legislature that meets just once every two years -- and for only four months -- should prevent local government health officials from doing their job, which is to protect the public's health.