Montana to reverse voters’ will on indoor smoking ban

I’ve found that politicians will occasionally ignore polls and pursue a policy that may be politically unpopular. Polls, after all, are not always reliable.

But when voters speak their minds at the ballot box, and enact a new law by popular demand via a referendum, politicians and lawmakers generally respect the electorate’s wishes.

Generally, but not always.

Thanks to an article brought to my attention by Carpetbagger friend Chief Osceola, Montana’s legislature and governor have decided to reverse a voter-approved ban on indoor smoking. Like Osceola, I’m fairly intolerant when it comes to smoking and the tobacco companies, and as a result, I find this usurpation of popular will fairly shocking.

Last June, voters in Helena, Montanta, approved an indoor smoking ban by nearly a two-to-one margin. The ban was halted, however, when a lawsuit was filed in December. Helena was not the only area in Montana to pass such a ban; the citizens of Missoula also approved strict smoking restrictions.

With the lawsuit blocking enforcement, Montana lawmakers, under intense lobbying pressure, decided it was a good time to pass a new statewide law undoing the indoor smoking bans approved by voters. As the measure started sailing through the legislature, Montana’s Republican Governor Judy Martz announced she’d sign it into law.

Sadly, the governor’s announcement came less than two weeks after two Montana doctors had announced a study indicating public health was improving thanks to the smoking ban.

Doctors Richard Sargent and Robert Shepard presented a report at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology explaining that during enforcement of the indoor smoking ban, “hospital admissions for heart attacks in the Helena area dropped from seven a month to about three.” As the Montana AP reported, the doctors’ data “also showed a possible spike back to normal levels after the city stopped enforcing the ban.”

Montana politicians have effectively concluded that saving lives and respecting popular will are less important than “property rights.”

Gov. Martz, by the way, seems to realize that the move may be unpopular. The voters who elected her, after all, are the same ones who supported the smoking ban.

As the AP noted, Martz was asked about how the reversal might affect public health. She said broad support in the legislature led her to announce her support for the change.

“If there’s any argument at all it’s with the people that vote on it,” Martz said. “It’s not with me.”

That’s a great way to pass the buck, Governor. I’d love the ban were it not for those rascals in the legislature! It’s not like I, as a state’s chief executive, have the ability to veto legislation I don’t like or anything!

I’m guessing Martz won’t be nominated for this year’s Profile in Courage award.