Legislature(2017 - 2018)BARNES 124
04/13/2017 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB201 | |
| SB64 | |
| SB63 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 63 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 64 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 201 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 63-REGULATION OF SMOKING
9:00:00 AM
CO-CHAIR PARISH announced that the final order of business would
be CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 63(FIN), "An Act prohibiting smoking
in certain places; relating to education on the smoking
prohibition; and providing for an effective date."
9:00:24 AM
SENATOR PETER MICCICHE, Alaska State Legislature, as prime
sponsor, presented SB 63. He said as a former mayor of five
years, he believes in local control; however, he said over half
the state does not have local control issues. He reported that
there are more people dying annually from the effects of tobacco
than from suicide, motor vehicle accidents, homicides, and
chronic liver disease combined. He reminded the committee of
the connection between chronic liver disease and Alaska's huge
problem with alcohol abuse.
SENATOR MICCICHE talked about the balance between people's
freedom and liberties and public safety, and he said there is a
saying that a person has a right to swing his/her arms at will,
until he/she makes contact with his/her neighbor's nose. He
said Senator Giessel had spoken in support of SB 63 on the
Senate floor and had mentioned "Hamilton's statement," which he
summarized as saying that the ultimate property right is "the
right of your person."
SENATOR MICCICHE said SB 63 would ask that employees in the work
place go outside to smoke; the legislation would not affect
smokers at home or smokers in their places of business if they
do not have employees. He stated, "Over half the population of
the state are currently living under smoke-free laws that are
very similar to SB 63; this covers the remainder of the state -
most of them not having the ability in our current law to
essentially regulate themselves."
9:02:18 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE said [vapor pens] ("vapes") and electronic
cigarettes ("e-cigs") are different from tobacco. He indicated
that SB 63 would grandfather vape shops and allow new shops in
the future if the shop has a separate air handling system.
However, in terms of "vaping" indoors, he said he does not want
employees forced to breath "whatever it is that those using an
electronic or vape device are exhaling." He stated, "This is
not about the right of the smoker to smoke; it is about the
rights of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air in the
workplace."
SENATOR MICCICHE noted there is a Dittman survey in the
committee packet. He said, "The fascinating thing is, even the
majority of smokers support this legislation." He recollected
that 85 percent of Alaskans who smoke do not smoke in their own
homes. He said, "We're just gently asking them to take it
outside." He illustrated that the penalties set under SB 63
would be low. He relayed that there were people available for
questions.
9:05:07 AM
RACHEL HANKE, Staff, Senator Peter Micchiche, Alaska State
Legislature, in response to a question from Representative
Rauscher and on behalf of Senator Micciche, prime sponsor of SB
63, noted that the next committee of referral for SB 63 would be
the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
9:07:01 AM
EMILY NENON, Alaska Government Relations Director, American
Cancer Society (ACS) Cancer Action Network (CAN), relayed that
in 1998, Bethel was the first community in Alaska to pass a
smoke-free law. She echoed the sponsor's comment that currently
about half of Alaska has passed similar laws at the local level,
including the communities of Bethel, Barrow, Juneau, Anchorage,
Dillingham, Unalaska, Nome, and Palmer. Since 1998, she
reported things have changed. For example, there is more
information now than there was then.
MS. NENON stated that in 2006, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a
report on the health effects of secondhand smoke, in which he
established that there is no safe level of exposure to
secondhand smoke and that ventilation and air cleaning systems
do not work to remove carcinogens or ultrafine particles. Since
then, she said, the body that sets standards on air ventilation
has added e-cigs to that list.
MS. NENON, regarding health, related that passing smoke-free
laws has resulted in an approximate 15-20 percent drop in
admissions to hospitals for heart attacks, acute myocardial
infarction, and pregnancy complications. She said once e-cigs
came on the market in about 2006, the laws since then mention
them. She said, "We know that nonusers can be exposed to ...
the same potentially harmful chemicals as users. We don't know
what's in every single one, but they have been found to contain
nicotine, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are the
carcinogens that are specific to tobacco, and, particularly
concerning, those ultrafine particles that can go deeper in to
the lungs."
MS. NENON continued as follows:
I want to just mention, for the purposes of this bill
here, we're not having a conversation about the safety
of e-cigarettes versus ... the traditional combusted
cigarette; we're just talking about taking it outside
and protecting nonusers.
So, today, with about half the state covered and not
all local communities having the power to do this at
the local level, we are here before you. We do have
strong support, as Senator Micciche mentioned, in our
instant polling, but we also have gathered over a
thousand resolutions of support from all corners of
the state over the last few years.
... To sum up: We're just asking folks to take it
outside, because everyone has the right to breathe
smoke-free air.
9:11:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked Ms. Nenon to confirm that she had
said some municipalities are not currently able to "make this
law right now."
MS. NENON responded yes.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for a reason behind this
inability.
MS. NENON offered her understanding as follows:
It has to do with the powers that have been adopted in
corporation, particularly for ... the unorganized
borough - places that you don't have a local
government - and then also for some of the second-
class boroughs.
9:11:53 AM
CO-CHAIR PARISH announced his intent to open public testimony on
Tuesday, [April 18, 2017].
9:12:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE asked what the barrier is in allowing
each municipality to exercise local control over this issue. He
said he is asking from the perspective of the business owner who
may want to do what he/she pleases while the state is telling
him/her what to do.
MS. NENON responded that ASC CAN thinks everyone should be
protected from second-hand smoke, and she said that is her
answer to the local control issue, because this is a serious
health hazard and standards need to be set statewide. She
deferred to municipal attorneys around the state to speak on the
specific challenges related to municipal powers.
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE remarked on the choice one has whether
to frequent an establishment and the imposition of values on a
business that is owned by someone who may feel he/she has the
right to smoke in his/her own place of business.
MS. NENON said she understands Representative Westlake's
question, because she has had a similar conversation with many
Alaskans over the last 15 years. She stated, "This is a health
and safety issue; this is ..., we believe, an appropriate place
for government intervention, just as government intervenes in
the temperature of the dishwater that's used in the restaurant
that's ... washing your dishes or saying that asbestos can't be
used in your ... facility."
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE said it is difficult to understand the
premise that the rights of a nonsmoker to dictate where people
should [not smoke] are "more than anybody else who owns a
business."
MS. NENON deferred to others to respond, but remarked that she
doubted anyone would be surprised to hear that the ACS wants to
"protect everyone from secondhand smoke."
9:15:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER noted that some cigars stores have an
area in which customers are allowed to try out product, and he
asked how that would work in a municipality that decides to "go
smoke-free."
MS. NENON answered that SB 63 has a provision that would address
tobacco use in tobacco shops within standalone buildings. She
said, "Because we know that ventilation systems don't work, you
wouldn't want somebody in a strip mall having smoking right next
to another building." She added that there were people prepared
to testify regarding their experiences in strip malls.
9:16:28 AM
BOB URATA, MD, related he is a family physician born and raised
in Wrangell, Alaska, a graduate of the first Washington, Alaska,
Montana, Idaho Medical Education Program (WAMI) [with the
edition of Wyoming in 1996, now called WWAMI], and a 16-year
American Heart Association (AHA) volunteer. He stated support
for SB 63 and the inclusion of e-cigs. He said he is also here
to represent his past and future patients, including his
children and grandchildren.
DR. URATA continued as follows:
Cigarette smoking continues to the be the leading
cause of preventable death in America and in Alaska.
In Alaska, cancer, heart disease, and stroke are the
number one and two causes of death. Smoking not only
claims the lives [of those] who smoke or use tobacco,
but also those who are exposed to secondhand smoke.
In fact, just 30 minutes of exposure to secondhand
smoke rapidly impairs the vascular function, and long-
term exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with
25-30 percent increased risk for coronary artery
disease or heart attacks in adult non-smokers.
DR. URATA said, "It is expensive." He related that the [Center
for Disease Control] (CDC) reports that secondhand smoke
exposure costs the United States $6.6 billion a year in lost
productivity. He surmised that Alaska would probably save
millions in Medicaid if SB 63 becomes law. He noted that
studies conducted in at least 10 communities or more have been
published in peer review journals and show that the
implementation of smoke-free laws decreases the occurrence of
heart attacks. He reported that in Pueblo, Colorado, three
years after implementation of smoke-free laws, the city saw a 41
percent decline of heart attack hospitalization. He noted that
Helena, Montana, had also reported a 40 percent decrease;
however, he said that study "had some weaknesses in it."
DR. URATA relayed that the University of Alaska Anchorage's
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) showed "a
positive business experience." Other studies have shown the
same, he indicated. He explained that when businesses are
smoke-free, more people tend to frequent them.
9:19:05 AM
DR. URATA stated that e-cigs should be included because of
serious questions about their safety. He said the Federal Drug
Administration (FDA) has found known toxins and nicotine in many
of the [e-cig] products. Small particles, 1,000 nanometers in
size, penetrate deep into the lungs and include carcinogens such
as benzine, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, isoprene, lead, nickel,
nicotine, and nitrosamines. He said the base of the liquid has
propylene glycol, which in children is known to cause asthma;
therefore, children exposed to e-cigs in restaurants can be at
risk. He advised that when propylene glycol is burned, a
propylene oxide is produced, which is a known carcinogen.
DR. URATA said e-cigs are touted as being a tool to help people
quit smoking, but in his own practice, he has not witnessed that
result. He said he has seen a couple patients use e-cigs and
combustion cigarettes at the same time, depending on their
location. He said there has been a great increase of e-cig use
by children of middle school and high school age, which he said
is concerning. He offered his understanding that according to
the CDC, 16 percent of high schoolers in the U.S. are using e-
cigs, and this will lead to their continued use of tobacco
products in the future. On the subject of e-cigs, Dr. Urata
urged that because "we don't know everything," it is important
to consider: "first do no harm." He said as a physician,
whatever he chooses to do for a patient, he must first do no
harm, and he asked that that be done for the citizens of Alaska.
He indicated that until more is known about e-cigs, their use
should not be allowed indoors "where it's all captured."
DR. URATA concluded as follows:
The positive impacts will benefit many in the short
and long term. This will benefit your family, your
friends, your neighbors, but most importantly, your
grandchildren. They need clean air. They don't need
asthma; they don't need cancer; they don't need heart
attacks; they don't need strokes. On behalf of the
American Heart Association and many Alaskans, I urge
you to support this bill.
9:22:08 AM
CO-CHAIR PARISH asked what the diffusion looks like for e-cigs
compared with regular cigarettes.
DR. URATA indicated that he does not have that information.
9:22:58 AM
JAY BUTLER, MD, Chief Medical Officer/Director, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS),
said he was testifying as a physician and former tobacco user.
He underscored Dr. Urata's statement about the short-term
benefits of limiting exposure to secondhand smoke. He said
there are three concurrent lines of evidence to that effect.
One line of evidence is derived from epidemiological studies,
which have linked smoke exposure to heart attack risk. Dr.
Butler indicated that from a biological perspective, it is known
that smoke exposure alters platelet function and the lining of
the blood vessels of the heart, increasing the type of blockage
that causes heart attacks.
DR. BULTER echoed the remark of other speakers that making
people who smoke do so outdoors has been shown to decrease
hospitalization rates for heart attack within months of such a
requirement being implemented. He indicated that if Alaska
[adopted a statewide requirement that people must not smoke
inside public facilities], then the healthcare system could
revert an estimated $3.7 million in costs from treating heart
attack and stroke, including over half a million for the Alaska
Medicaid program.
DR. BUTLER said exposure to secondhand smoke has led to the
following problems for children: lung cancer, an increased risk
of sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infection, middle
ear infections, and asthma attacks. He said, "Avoiding
secondhand smoke not only protects the health and productivity
of Alaskans, but also helps avoid the costs of illness
associated with secondhand smoke that employers, the government,
and all of us who chip in to the health insurance system bear."
9:25:37 AM
MR. BUTLER said it is certainly rational to think that e-cigs
could play a role in smoking cessation, particularly for those
who have failed other methods of nicotine replacement in
attempts to quit smoking. He echoed Dr. Urata's remark that
sometimes people use both combustible cigarettes and e-cigs;
they may be smoking fewer combustible cigarettes, but they are
not quitting completely. He said the largest trial, which was
conducted in New Zealand, found that six-month quit rates for
those using nicotine containing e-cigs was approximately 7
percent, compared to 6 percent for those receiving nicotine
patches and 4 percent for those receiving e-cigs containing no
nicotine. He said it makes sense that an e-cig may be safer
than a combustible cigarette.
DR. BUTLER said another device is 95 percent vapor. He said it
is important to consider: "Where does that number come from?"
He indicated that information published in the European
Addiction Research Journal, by Professor David Nutt, states that
the number was from an expert panel that gave ratings on seven
criteria for risks to users, and to others, of a number of
tobacco products relative to cigarettes. He emphasized that
there is no "hard, scientific data that generated this number,"
rather knowledgeable and intelligent people ranked the safety of
"these other products" on a scale of 1-10. He said the same
group determined that "smoking a pipe is 78 percent safer,
smoking cigars is 85 percent safer." He said he thinks it
raises important questions about "using this number to generate
policy" and where the line should be drawn in terms of what is
safer. He explained, "If we draw it at 75 percent, you have to
question ... why are we also not allowing more public use of
pipes and cigars.
DR. BUTLER noted that at the end of the aforementioned
publication is "a rather unusual editor's note" pointing out
"the financial interest some of the contributors had to the e-
cigarette industry." He noted that the publication does not
specify what 95 percent safer means. He said it is known that a
lifetime combustible cigarette smoker has an approximate 50
percent chance of dying of a tobacco related illness. He asked,
"Does 95 percent mean a lifetime e-cigarette user has only a 1
in 20 or 5 percent risk of dying of a tobacco-related disease?"
He said that is unknown and although the odds may be better,
"they're not great."
9:29:20 AM
DR. BUTLER said there are few advertisements ("ads") that
purport e-cigs as smoking cessation devices, and the reason is
that the FDA has not approved them for that purpose. He related
that the usual focus of e-cig ads is on a smoker's ability to
use the devices in places where smoking is prohibited. Dr.
Butler offered an example of one such ad. He said there has
been talk about the role of e-cigs in "renormalization of
smoking." He said there are epidemiological studies that
suggest teenagers who use e-cigs are more likely to go on to use
combustible cigarettes than those who do not use e-cigs. About
one-quarter of teens who use e-cigs report activities such as
"dripping," which involves dripping the liquids directly on the
heated atomizers. He said this is like another teen habit with
e-cigs, which is "amping" or "souping up your tank device" to
"get a better throat hit." He said there are instructional
videos on YouTube.
DR. BUTLER said there are also concerns with substances other
than nicotine. He said a few years ago there had been problems
in Anchorage related to "spice" products, which are synthetic
cannabinoids. He said some of the people that were hospitalized
were using "tank type" e-cigs and vaping the same chemicals that
were in the spice cigarette and were being sold on the street in
containers marked "car air freshener." Dr. Butler talked about
the flavors used in conjunction with e-cigs. He said those
flavors are labeled by the FDA as being generally recognized as
safe; however, that criterion is based on eating the flavors,
not vaporizing and inhaling them.
9:34:10 AM
KRISTIN COX testified in support of SB 63. She opined that it
is time to have smoke-free workplaces in Alaska to protect
workers from the effects of secondhand smoke. She stated that
that should include e-cigs. She related an experience when she
was eating at a local restaurant and a diner at the next table
began smoking an e-cig. Another time, at a social event, a
person next to her engulfed her head in an e-cig "vaping cloud."
Ms. Cox questioned whether e-cigs are safer. She suggested,
"Maybe, but most smokers die of heart disease from inhaling
particulate matter." She continued: "So, are e-cigarettes less
carcinogenic? Maybe they are."
MS. COX said e-cig aerosol is made up of "oily clouds of heated
propylene glycol and ... nanoparticles." She indicated that she
had been advised by representatives of the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that those nanoparticles are potentially
more harmful because they linger in the air, are inhaled more
deeply in the lungs, and dissipate further to land on surfaces.
She said, "You get thirdhand exposure from touching surfaces
where those oily clouds have descended ...." Ms. Cox said lungs
are essential to life and nothing is safer than breathing clean
air. She said people who believe e-cigs are safer should use
them outside where secondhand aerosol is less likely to affect
others. She stated that it is not up to legislators to
determine whether e-cigs are safer, and exempting e-cigs from SB
63 would "do just that." She urged the committee to pass SB 63,
"as is" - including e-cigs.
9:36:28 AM
JOHNA BEECH stated that as someone who lives in a borough
without health privileges, she is asking the committee to
support SB 63, with the inclusion of e-cigs. She stated that it
is time to protect all Alaska employees by asking smokers,
including e-cig users and "vapers" to "simply take it outside."
She said, "It's not about the smoker - it's about the smoke;
it's not about the vaper - it's about the 'vape'." She added,
"It's just about time."
9:37:36 AM
GAIL SCHIEMANN testified in support of SB 63. She said she
worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, before
there were any protections in place, and she now has chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She said she must use an
inhaler and medications every day. She emphasized that COPD is
a chronic lung disease from which she will never get better.
Ms. Schiemann said she has never smoked. She opined, "Alaska's
workforce deserves better now." She asked the committee to
protect that workforce by passing SB 63. She concluded,
"Business owners do not have the right to expose their staff to
toxic environments."
9:38:39 AM
JENNY OLENDORFF testified in support of SB 63. She said for
years she had worked in an office in a strip mall in Soldotna,
Alaska, where "cigarette smoke from the business next door
seeped in through the walls, the vents, and even the outlets."
She said her place of business beseeched the business next door
to have its employees smoke outside, away from the air intake
and doorways, but they refused. After seven years, her place of
business gave up trying to effect change and moved to a smoke-
free office place elsewhere in town. She said, "Ironically, the
mall owner called me, just two weeks ago, desperately asking why
a statewide law had not yet been passed. And then he
enthusiastically signed a resolution of support for a workplace
law." Ms. Olendorff asked the committee to pass SB 63, with the
inclusion of e-cigs, "in the name of public health." She said
it is unfair to ask non-users to inhale secondhand combustible
cigarette smoke and secondhand e-cig aerosol.
9:39:59 AM
TERRENCE ROBBINS testified in support of SB 63. He said the
damaging effects of smoking kill many Alaskans each year;
several of his family members are among those who have died. He
listed the following cancer related deaths in his family: a
grandfather; both maternal grandparents; an aunt, who worked for
the State of Alaska for 30 years; another aunt; an uncle; and
Mr. Robbins' father, who retired after 30 years working for the
State of Alaska. Mr. Robbins said he became addicted to
flavored chewing tobacco, while playing senior league baseball
at the age of 13. He quit using tobacco after 27 years. He
stated his belief that flavored e-cigs are the new way to get
children addicted to tobacco. He stated, "According to the CDC,
smoke-free laws are associated with increased tobacco use
cessation, decrease[d] ... tobacco use prevalence, ...
[reduction] of cigarette consumption among continuing smokers,
and ... [reduction] of tobacco use among youth." He concluded
his testimony as follows:
I support SB 63, because I have witnessed the last
ragged breath that my grandfather took, and my mother
spent two "retirement" years desperately trying to
comfort and care for her little sisters, as they
wasted away and eventually succumbed to their cancer.
Smoking is so addictive and so deadly that in my
opinion, this simple act - protecting our friends, our
family, and our neighbors from secondhand smoke - will
surely prevent illness; it will save lives; it will
help tobacco users quit smoking; and, by changing
community norms regarding smoking, it will reduce
youth smoking rates.
9:42:40 AM
JODI BLAKELY, Owner, The Mecca, said she, along with her
employees and customers, made the decision to go smoke-free in
2016, and she receives gratitude from people daily based on that
decision. She said she first allowed e-cigs in the bar, but
found they are offensive to her employees and customers, because
they smell, so e-cig users must go outside, as well. She
emphasized that her business was not adversely affected by the
decision to go smoke-free, and she urged the committee to
support SB 63.
9:44:06 AM
MATT SCOTT testified that he is a registered nurse in Bethel,
Alaska, but is testifying on behalf of himself. He said he
enjoys Bethel's ordinance that created a smoke-free workplace
for employees, and he has never heard a business owner complain
about "the effects of having this ordinance." He said, "This is
a health issue." He opined that the ability to walk into any
local business without suffering unplanned health risks is a
basic human right. He said, "We wouldn't allow gas station
owners to spray gasoline on people; it is absolutely ridiculous
to think that we could allow business owners to allow
microparticles as fine as that are found in e-cigarettes to be
in the air when people could be in those business places and
work places." He stated support of SB 63.
9:45:21 AM
CARMEN LUNDE testified on behalf of Kodiak CHARR in opposition
to [SB] 63. She explained that Kodiak CHARR believes strongly
that business owners have the right to make their own choices
without federal, state, or local government mandates that force
them to go against their wishes. She said allowing government
to take freedom of choice away is a slippery slope. Ms. Lunde
continued as follows:
Smoking bans violate private property rights. The air
in a bar belongs neither to smokers nor nonsmokers,
and it is the bar owner who should decide the smoking
policy on his or her own premises as, of course, they
are the only ones who know what is best for their
business and how to work out their own compromises and
solutions.
MS. LUNDE related that Kodiak "uses a commonsense approach that
works." She reported that three-quarters of the bars in Kodiak
are smoke-free, while about 25 percent allow smoking, which she
said gives every adult the opportunity to frequent a bar of
his/her choice. She stated that people should not be forced to
stand outside at any time to smoke a cigarette. She remarked
upon the extreme and cold weather. She stated, "I personally
would not have the nerve to ask a veteran who fought for our
freedoms to go stand in a snowstorm or even the rain to smoke
his or her cigarette." She continued:
Smoking prohibition and the campaign for behavior
modifications are a front to hide the self-
satisfaction of those who feel entitled to endorse
their views on choice, health, behaviors, and social
values. Health campaigns cover the reasons of those
who want to impose their ways with laws, programming
the lives of individuals, disregarding the values that
many people hold precious, one of which is freedom of
choice.
MS. LUNDE quoted Abraham Lincoln, as follows:
Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that
it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation
and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.
A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very
principles upon which our government was founded.
9:47:44 AM
ALYSSA KEILL testified in support of SB 63. She said she thinks
providing a smoke-free environment for employees is important,
because a person being exposed to smoke during an entire shift
can be more harmful than smoking one cigarette, and she said she
does not think that is fair to an employee whether or not he/she
is a smoker. Ms. Keill opined that it is important to include
e-cigs in SB 63. Further, she noted that the City of Fairbanks
had written a letter of support for SB 63, and she said she
would appreciate the committee' support of the proposed
legislation.
9:48:36 AM
STEPHEN WARREN expressed appreciation to the committee for
working on SB 63, which he said would protect all Alaskans from
"the proven dangers of secondhand smoke and nicotine vapor in
the workplaces." He opined that "big tobacco" has a problem in
that its products kill its customers; therefore, it must
continue to recruit new, young smokers and "normalize public
use." He continued:
And what better way to do this than start 'em out on
candy-flavored, supposedly safer but still addictive,
products? They know they'll crave a better, stronger
fix soon enough and Marlboros will be waiting to
satisfy the hunger that e-cigarettes ignited. E-
cigarettes are simply training wheels for addiction.
I doubt you would allow dealers to sell oxycodone
gummy bears to kids. Why allow Big Tobacco to commit
an equally despicable act to support their deadly
business model?
9:50:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WESTLAKE expressed appreciation for Mr. Warren's
testimony.
9:50:14 AM
RILEY NEFF WARNER acknowledged that the issue involves local and
business rights and said he sympathizes, considering the size of
Alaska; however, he stressed that it is important for the
legislature to protect those without voice or the ability to
protect themselves. For example, he said there may be single,
working parents who are in situations where they work in an
environment with secondhand smoke because they do not have other
options for employment. Eventually, they succumb to negative
health affects related to that exposure to secondhand smoke and
vapors. He said the result will be more cost to the state and
an impact on the families. He concluded, "These are unintended
consequences that don't have to do, necessarily, with what the
intention is of a smoker, but they're very real and they impact
Alaskans, who currently don't have a voice or the protections
that they need from the state."
9:51:44 AM
CHRYSTAL SCHOENROCK, Owner, Forelands Bar, relayed that she is
also secretary of the Kenai Peninsula CHARR and a member of
Alaska CHARR. She said she cannot understand why "you people
don't get it" that there are smoking bars and smoke-free bars -
both - and that system has worked, because people who don't
smoke can choose to go to the smoke-free bar, as can the people
who want to work in a smoke-free environment. She emphasized
that everybody should have a choice. Ms. Schoenrock said she
has veterans frequent her bar, some of whom are 70-80 years of
age, while others are young veterans having already served up to
three tours in the military, and they do not want to go outside
in the cold to smoke. She said those veterans have fought for
the freedoms [of Americans], and [forcing them to smoke outside]
would be taking their freedom away. She said that is not fair
to them and she opined that the decision to make an
establishment a smoking or smoke-free one should be up to the
owners and patrons. She said if her patrons wished for a smoke-
free bar, then she would accommodate them; however, they do not
feel that way.
MS. SCHOENROCK reiterated that the status quo is working out
fine; however, she said that concept "falls on deaf ears." She
recalled testimony in the past where people had related the
effect of going smoke-free on their bars, and she reiterated
that that past testimony fell on deaf ears. She said she cannot
understand why. She said not all legislators are "like that,"
but she urged the committee to "think about this and think about
the people who fought for your rights and your freedoms also."
9:54:35 AM
DALE FOX, President/CEO, Alaska CHARR, testified that SB 63
targets bars. He explained that the rest of the locations
listed under SB 63 have been smoke-free for years, including
airplanes and public buildings. He reminded the committee that
in terms of stated concerns for children: "children are not in
bars." Regarding the idea that [a smoke-free environment] is
good for business, Mr. Fox said while that may be true for some,
others have experienced a 30 percent loss in business. He
indicated that this issue is an economic one.
MR. FOX stated that most businesses, following their own self-
interest, are becoming smoke-free. He echoed a previous
testifier that in Kodiak, where there is no law against smoking,
three-quarters of the establishments that sell alcohol are
smoke-free. He said this gives people a choice. Mr. Fox said
he is a nonsmoker and easily finds an establishment that is
smoke-free. He said this bill targets bars. He stated that in
several communities where there have been public votes, a number
of people have voted no against the ban. In other communities,
he noted, the local governing body has made the decision to make
the ban. He said the legislature is being asked "to overrule
those closest to the people and/or the people themselves."
MR. FOX continued as follows:
Some people may be tempted to vote in favor of this
just to move it along and make it go away. But don't
think for a moment that it's going to go away.
Because the smoking ban proponents will be back next
year with new smoking ban proposals. Right now
they're saying, "Take it outside." It wasn't within a
week of the smoking ban in Anchorage where people were
walking down the sidewalk where people were kicked out
of the bars onto the sidewalk to smoke, and people
were going, "Oh, my God, I have to walk through this
cloud of smoke on the sidewalk!" Expect a sidewalk
ban in the future. All you have to do is look to
California and what they're doing - these guys will be
right behind that.
MR. FOX said Alaska CHARR is asking that legislators vote no on
SB 63.
9:58:13 AM
MARY SEARS related that she is a Tier I, retired correctional
officer, who was hired when she was a single mother of six
children. She said she is not a smoker, but she was working in
an environment where staff and inmates smoked. She developed
bronchitis, followed by asthma and pneumonia. She said her
health care provider urged her to quit her job, but she was
making the equivalent of male counterparts, as well as receiving
good benefits, so she chose not to quit. She said that after
retirement and having cancer, she found out that both her lungs
are scarred. She explained that she is testifying in favor of
SB 63 to support all the nonsmokers working in smoking
environments. She urged the committee to pass SB 63.
9:59:39 AM
MARNA SANFORD, Government Relations Coordinator, Tanana Chiefs
Conference (TCC), testified in support of SB 63. She said one
of TCC's focal points is "healthy, strong, unified people." As
an organization, TCC decided to be smoke-free several years ago
to provide its employees a healthful place to work where they
would not be adversely affected by tobacco smoke. She
acknowledged that Alaskans like to march to their "own step,"
but she opined that as only one of ten states that has not
enacted a smoke-free workplace law, "this is not the time to be
individualistic." She said the state is in "the bad minority"
currently and needs to be protecting its people.
MS. SANFORD, regarding a previously made point that everyone has
the choice not to go into an establishment where there is
smoking, said other previous testimony has shown that the
employees in those establishments "had to live through that and
now are suffering the consequences."
MS. SANFORD said she does not believe that SB 63 is targeting
bars. She said there are numerous businesses where the smoke-
free workplace would [be a] benefit, including hotels,
industrial businesses, automotive businesses, and construction
businesses. She said she is blessed to be able to come to work
in a smoke-free environment, but so many others do not have that
option, because perhaps their particular skills put them in a
position where the only place they are able to work is one where
there is smoking.
MS. SANFORD said the federal government puts workplace laws in
place for the safety of employees, which is why the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exists. She opined that
it is crazy to protect employees from slips and falls but not
from "the leading cause of death in Alaska." She urged the
committee to support SB 63.
10:02:55 AM
BETTY MACTAVISH testified in support of SB 63. She said she
lives in Kodiak, Alaska, where workers are not protected from
secondhand smoke in the workplace. She said she has been
diagnosed with smoker's lung and has black spots on her lungs as
a result of exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace. She
said her health has been compromised, even though she has never
smoked a day in her life. Ms. MacTavish said only now is
information being discovered about the health effects of e-cigs;
therefore, she requested the committee proactively keep e-cigs
in SB 63. She urged the committee to pass SB 63 out of
committee quickly, because "rural Alaskans are waiting for
protection."
[SB 63 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CSSB063 Sectional Analysis Ver. N 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Explanation of Changes Ver. U to Ver. N 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Resolutions of Support 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Ver. N 3.29.2017.PDF |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Fiscal Note DCCED-AMCO 4.6.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Fiscal Note DEC-FSS 4.6.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Fiscal Note DOT-COM 4.6.2017.PDF |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Sponsor Statement 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 DPS-DET 4.6.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Fiscal Note DHSS-CDPHP 4.6.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Resolutions of Support 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Support Document - Evidence on Secondhand Smoke 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Support Letters 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Support Document - Dittman Survey 3.29.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 email opposing, amend.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 Maniilaq 17-06 Supporting a Smokefree Alaska.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 Electronic_Nicotine_Delivery_Systems_Key_Facts_Infographic_CDC.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 ecigarette-secondhand-aerosol.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 E-cigarette nicotine labels not always accurate -- ScienceDaily.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 ASHRAE_PD_Environmental_Tobacco_Smoke_2013.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 - States Map Smoke-Free.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| CSSB063 Resolutions of Support UPDATE 4.11.2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB 63 Addnl Support 4-12-2017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |
| SB064 DoD 4-6-2017Addnl Comments UECA Bill.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB064 DEC response to DoD 4-6-2017 Addnl Comments.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 64 |
| SB 63 email opposing 03302017.pdf |
HCRA 4/13/2017 8:00:00 AM HCRA 4/18/2017 8:00:00 AM |
SB 63 |