• Negotiations in state Senate have stalled over the smoking ban
• A legislator in state Assembly will again introduce bill to push for ban
• Health and business interests continue to argue over the ban's possible benefits and impact
• Gov. Doyle continues to support a full ban on indoor smoking in public places

The passage of a statewide indoor smoking ban for all public places may be in doubt as lawmakers on both sides of the issue continue to battle over possible health and economic consequences of a smoking ban.

State Senate leaders, supporters and opponents of the ban failed to reach a compromise last week in Madison, which effectively took the ban off the table and prevented it from reaching a vote on the Senate floor.

State Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Appleton) plans to introduce legislation today in the Assembly that would ban smoking in all public indoor places without the exemptions legislators tried to insert into a similar Senate bill. The ban would start Jan. 1, 2009.

Wieckert said he is hopeful about his legislation's chances in Madison, although the state legislature adjourns March 15. Gov. Jim Doyle, who called on lawmakers to pass a ban this year, could call legislators into a special session after that date.

Opponents of a full ban, including state Sen. Roger Breske (D-Eland) and Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston), wanted taverns to be exempt from restrictions until July 1, 2011. Bars would have also been allowed to have smoking rooms—a concession supporters of the ban were not willing to make.

"When you give an inch, sometimes it seems like the other side takes a mile," said Liz Sanger, a local policy specialist for SmokeFree Wisconsin, one of the groups involved in negotiations. "If you admit there's a public health hazard, then why wouldn't you want to protect the public immediately?"

Sanger said legislators should pass the ban as soon as possible because of the health risks associated with second-hand smoke.

Pete Madland, executive director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin, said a majority of tavern owners want the league to continue to fight the ban because they say it would have an adverse effect on their businesses.

Sanger said 33 communities in the state have restrictions on indoor smoking. Madison and Appleton passed bans in 2005 and they have become increasingly popular with the public and businesses alike, she said.

Nearly 30 bars have gone out of business in Madison since its ban was enacted, Madland said, and over a dozen bars have closed in Appleton.

"When people say that these businesses don't get hurt, they're talking about the restaurants," Madland said. "The little Ma-and-Pa taverns that we represent—they do get hurt."

The Tavern League supported a separate Assembly bill that failed last March, which would have exempted all taverns and bar areas of restaurants from the ban, Madland said.

Wieckert is introducing his bill in the Assembly, which is modeled on the ban in Appleton, where voters approved it in three separate referenda. He said a statewide ban would level the playing field for businesses, so bars and taverns in Appleton, for example, would be subject to the same restrictions as businesses in neighboring communities.

"People like to get out. They're always going to do that," Wieckert said. "When there's no place to go out where you can go to smoke, people are still going to go."

With Minnesota and Illinois having recently enacted smoking bans and polls showing that about 70 percent of Wisconsin residents are in favor of a ban, Wieckert said smoking restrictions in Wisconsin will happen sooner or later.

The Assembly legislation is likely to face obstacles in Madison and around the state. Two bloggers upset by talk of a smoking ban have even started their own group to oppose it. Joey Monson and Ryan Evans started "Ban the Ban Wisconsin" in January.

Monson, a resident of Clayton, Wis. in the northwest corner of the state, said a ban would have an adverse economic effect on taverns in rural areas. Clayton, with a population of about 500, has three taverns, she said.

"Growing up I've come to see the tavern culture in small towns," Monson said. "People look at it as drunkards and rowdies, (but) it's a place for us to gather together. It's a part of our community."

Doyle spokeswoman Carla Vigue said the smoking ban remains a top priority for the governor and he will continue to support a full ban in all public places in Wisconsin.