Kauai tightens restrictions LIHUE >> A bill giving Kauai the toughest restaurant smoking ban in Hawaii goes to the County Council next week after a Council committee made the measure even more restrictive Thursday night.
in smoking bill
Small, family-owned restaurants
lose an exemptionBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comThe committee removed an exemption for small, family-owned restaurants in which all the employees are family members.
A provision, aimed primarily at golf course clubhouses, was added Thursday that will allow smoking at combination bars and restaurants during hours when meals are not served.
The bill prohibits smoking at any restaurant whether indoors or outdoors.
It is much more restrictive than ordinances passed earlier this year on Oahu and Maui.
The Big Island has yet to vote on new smoking restrictions.
Several restaurant owners and employees protested the bill Thursday night and complained about not having adequate notice that a bill was pending.
Councilman Jimmy Tokioka, who is a restaurant owner and the bill's author, said the measure has been in the works since November.
He said the Council sponsored a workshop to discuss the issue informally, and only one restaurant owner showed up. Similarly, the Council sent a survey to restaurant owners almost a year ago and received only a few responses, he noted.
Only three of the committee's five members were present Thursday night, and all voted for the bill.
The measure appears to have the four votes it will need for passage by the full Council.
County of Kauai
