Action Alert! — Smoking Ban Voted Out of Committee

Bad news! The House Committee on State Affairs has passed out House Bill 5, the ban on smoking in all workplaces. Considering that Calendars Committee Chairman Brian McCall is a joint author of the bill, it is virtually guaranteed to be placed on the House Calendar for a vote this week.

While it is true that the version passed by State Affairs is “watered down,” this means absolutely nothing. HB 5 author Myra Crownover has stated that the changes, which eliminated bars and counties with 115,000 or fewer residents “are not acceptable, but {they’re} a vehicle to get this through.â€� The authors in the house fully intend to place the original language back into the bill, either on the house floor or during the conference committee.

This is why it is important that conservatives and other liberty minded folks contact the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. The Senate version of the bill, SB 544, is currently held-up in that committee. It is important that we contact the Health and Human Services Committee members and urge them not to pass-on the bill to the Senate floor.

Here is a link to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/commit/c610/c610.htm

Please contact the members offices and urge them to vote “NO” on sending the legislation to the full Senate for a vote.

Tony McDonald
Vice Chairman for Legislative Affairs
Young Conservatives of Texas