Petition submitted to pass smoking ban

Challengers of the petition say it violates election laws.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Backers of a statewide smoking ban have collected enough signatures on petitions to place the issue before the Legislature, but first, they must fight a group representing bar owners that has challenged the petitions.
The bar owners say the people collecting the some of the signatures violated state election laws.
The statewide ban would prohibit smoking in public places, such as restaurant, bars and offices.
SmokeFreeOhio submitted about 165,000 signatures to Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's office. Blackwell said Wednesday that 117,026 of the signatures were those of Ohio voters and the proposal was forwarded to the Legislature.
That means lawmakers have four months from reconvening Jan. 3 to pass the issue, or backers can collect 96,870 more signatures, or 3 percent of the total vote for governor in 2002, and place the plan directly before voters.
Challengers
The Ohio Licensed Beverage Association said Wednesday it has challenged petitions in 10 counties. It says the circulators came from out of state, listed the wrong employer or committed other violations of Ohio election law.
A similar challenge was made by Ohio First, a group opposed to the four election-related ballot issues that voters rejected Nov. 8.
The 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals threw out the Ohio First challenge over residency requirements but did not rule on the merits. It only said the case did not qualify as "extraordinary" and require immediate attention.
"Our question here wasn't answered in this case," said Jacob Evans, a lobbyist for the beverage association. "We just want to make sure the process was followed in gathering these signatures."
In a Dec. 1 letter to county boards of elections, Blackwell said that questions about a circulator's home or occupation were not grounds to invalidate the petitions.
SmokeFreeOhio
SmokeFreeOhio, a coalition of the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and other health groups, thinks it will prevail if the challenges go to court, spokeswoman Tracy Sabetta said.
"We're very confident that the protests will be dismissed. The residency requirement issue has already been thrown out of court," Sabetta said.
Once the petitions' status is resolved, SmokeFreeOhio wants the Legislature to do nothing. It says it doesn't want a watered-down version and would prefer to take it to the voters intact.
However, it could prompt lawmakers to act on their own, said Rep. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati, the No. 6 Republican in the House and an opponent of a statewide ban.
Seitz supports setting aside areas for smokers in airports, restaurants, country clubs, hotels and other public venues.
"The thinking is that if voters see a reasonable alternative enacted by the Legislature, they would be less inclined to impose a sweeping ban," Seitz said.
Eleven states have enacted some form of ban.