San Marcos bans smoking indoors

City officials had considered strengthening the smoking ordinance in summer 2011, but council members ultimately decided not to call a referendum asking voters whether they supported further restrictions. A city-funded poll conducted in February 2013 indicated increasing support for a San Marcos smoking ban.

"Most people are surprised when you come to San Marcos and you can smoke in bars," Councilwoman Kim Porterfield said.

Business owners' rights

At public hearings in August and September, two San Marcos bar owners spoke in opposition to the ban, saying it could harm their business and infringe on their rights.

"My business is mine," said Johnny Finch, who owns Chances R, a lounge on South LBJ Drive. "It's not a public business. I do not get public funding. My customers know when they come in my business that we have smoking. My employees that I hire are aware of this. You vote with your feet. If you do not like what you see, then go somewhere else."

A number of health providers spoke in favor of the smoking ban. Dr. Philip Huang, medical director and health authority for the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, said protection from secondhand smoke should outweigh the rights of business owners.

"We do not allow restaurants to not refrigerate their food and have their employees not wash their hands, and this is the same public health protection," Huang said. "It's not just business owners' rights to do anything they want."

He added that Austin did not suffer an adverse economic impact when it implemented an indoor smoking ban in 2005.

"And that's been repeated throughout the country," he said.

Sam Huenergardt, president and CEO of Central Texas Medical Center, said the ordinance would allow San Marcos to "take a step forward as a community."

"We have a lot of business opportunities in front of us with companies looking at our workforce and evaluating, 'Is this a healthy workforce or not?' This can help us show that our city and citizens are dedicated to creating a better environment for each other," he said.

Extension for some businesses

Before they voted on the ordinance, council members also approved an amendment put forward by Councilman Ryan Thomason that gives some businesses an extra seven months to comply with the ban.

If the owner of an establishment decides to build an outdoor smoking area—and he or she receives a building permit by June 1, 2014—patrons will be allowed to smoke indoors there until Jan. 1, 2015. The city's building code requires an engineer's seal of approval before a structure can be modified, Thomason said.

"And that [approval] could take a considerable amount of time," he said. "Even the mildest of outdoor modifications would require that. If somebody wanted to do a rooftop [patio], this would allow them time to get that done."

Public smoking elsewhere

Indoor public smoking is prohibited in about half of all states in the United States.

Bills to enact a statewide public indoor smoking ban in Texas have been defeated in recent legislative sessions, including 2011 and 2013, but cities with active smoking bans cover nearly 8.5 million Texans, or about 45 percent of all the state's residents, according to Smoke-Free Texas, an organization that advocates for a statewide ban on smoking in workplaces.

Kyle and Buda allow smoking in public places, but Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson and Buda Mayor Todd Ruge said they are not aware of any public establishment in their cities that allows indoor smoking.

"It's not something we have discussed, but we could address it if it becomes an issue," Ruge said.