When the statewide smoking ban officially went into effect March 1, many Providence business owners strongly objected to exemptions granted to establishments like the Graduate Center Bar and Wickenden Pub with Class C and Class D liquor licenses. In response to their protests, Superior Court Judge Stephen Fortunato Jr. ruled March 31 that these exemptions are unconstitutional.
The House of Representatives passed a bill April 5 prohibiting smoking in those Class C and Class D facilities previously exempted from the ban, and the Senate is expected to pass the legislation tomorrow.
The exemptions - which permitted certain facilities to continue to allow smoking until Oct. 1, 2006 - currently apply to all Class C and Class D facilities, provided that they have fewer than 10 employees and the Class D facilities have "defined memberships," are "distinctly private" and are run by nonprofit organizations.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs provided evidence that their sales had dropped 10 to 35 percent since the ban took effect. To prove that such exemptions created inherent disadvantages, they hired a private investigator to demonstrate that certain exempted businesses were advertising their advantage with no attempt to maintain the "defined membership" called for in the legislation, according to The Providence Journal.
Fortunato issued a temporary order eliminating the exemptions and mandating that smoking in private clubs and bars halt immediately.
Rep. Arthur J. Corvese, D-North Providence, played a role in crafting the exemptions last year and was the only vote in the House against the bill.
Attorney General Patrick Lynch '87 and Associate Professor of Medicine David Gifford, acting Rhode Island Department of Health director, were defendants in the suit. Though his responsibility entails defending the constitutionality of the law, Lynch said he thinks "the judge's decision is good for public health," and the House vote was "a good step," according to an April 6 Journal article.
When Fortunato issued his ruling, the health department responded by mailing summaries of his decision to holders of Class C and D liquor licenses, according to Bill Dundulis, environmental health risk assessment toxicologist at the Health Department.
If the health department receives a complaint regarding one of these previously exempt facilities, Dundulis said such facilities would be held accountable for the information presented in these notifications. "We're trying to get it on all fronts," he said.
The mailings also include a copy of the press release detailing Fortunato's ruling, some additional information and copies of no smoking signs to be displayed.
The Graduate Center Bar posted a sign asking patrons to smoke outside until a final ruling on their exemption is made. Wickenden Pub, located at 320 Wickenden St., is the Class C facility closest to the University. The Brown Faculty Club holds a class D license but banned smoking in the club several years before the statewide ban took effect.
On a day-to-day basis, smoking is not allowed at the Faculty Club, according to an employee who has worked there for 25 years and requested to remain anonymous. However, in the past, exemptions have been made for private parties when the host rents out the entire club, she said.
In such cases, "It's up to the discretion of the host," she added.
Should the legislation clear the Senate and Governor Donald Carcieri '65 sign it into law, such exemptions will no longer be possible.
