Legislation that would institute a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and other public places has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further review, making it unlikely to pass this legislative session.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he doesn't expect the measure to make it back to the full House for consideration. The bill has proven divisive in Kentucky, one of the nation's top tobacco-producing states. Gov. Steve Beshear pressed for the smoking ban during his annual State of the Commonwealth speech earlier this month, saying the 25 percent of Kentuckians who smoke could still light up if the measure passes, just not in places where they would expose others to their smoke.
