(KMOV) – The city of St. Charles passed a new law that will require all buildings to have signs telling patrons whether or not smoking is available.
The president of the city council said they held three public hearings, and out of the 65,000 people in St. Charles, they heard from about 100. It was reportedly an even split on whether or not to have a smoking ban.
All public buildings, that means shops, restaurants, bars and any business that invites or allows the public in has to have a sign with lettering at least one inch tall at all its entrances saying if you can smoke inside or not.
This certainly had a lot of support on the city council. It passed by a ten to nothing vote with all ten members sponsoring the bill.
“Putting aside whether you think second-hand smoke is a health issue or not for certain people there’s no question is it a health issue…if you have COPD, some kind of a lung issue or if you’re a grandparent or parent taking children we thought it would be appropriate that before you walk into a building you know, that’s the compromise we came up with,” said Dave Beckering, president St. Charles City Council.
Fines will be up to $500 and three months in jail. The city’s fairly open on the exact wording and the look of the sign.
Beckering said that’s because businesses up and down Main Street have invested a lot of money into their décor and so the city will allow them to decide what type of sign to put in place.