City adopts amendment to tobacco ordinance in hopes of receiving grant for parks

With guidance from the state and local health departments, the City of Guthrie amended the existing Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Ordinance within city limits. With the change, the City will now be available for additional grant money.

The city council voted 6-0 to approve the amendments when it comes to tobacco and electronic cigarettes.

The changes now allow the City to meet the prerequisite requirements and criteria to apply for Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) funded grants including the Healthy Communities Incentive Grant.

If awarded, the City may be eligible to receive up to $70,000.00 on projects that will enhance wellness activities.

City officials believe the projects that may benefit from this grant include park enhancements such as adding shade structures to splash pad developments.

The changes, include municipally owned properties and exclude privately owned properties except where prohibited by Oklahoma State Law, expand the definition of tobacco products, expand the prohibition of tobacco products to include vapor products, other elements added or adjusted to become compliant with TSET Tobacco-Free Government Property Policy and practice evaluation tool.

“The biggest change with the current ordinance is that we are taking out all the private property type stuff,” City Planner Dan Kassik told the council. “It will be specifically municipal owned properties, or other properties that would be prohibited by under state law.”

The amendment also includes vapor products.

Full Ordinance

ORDINANCE NO. 3334

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GUTHRIE BY AMENDING CHAPTER 11: HEALTH AND SAFETY, ARTICLE 6: TOBACCO AND ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES; REPEALING ALL CONFLICTING ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GUTHRIE, OKLAHOMA, that SECTION 1. The City of Guthrie Code of Ordinances, Chapter 11: Health and Safety, Article 6: Tobacco and Electronic Cigarettes is hereby amended as follows:

ARTICLE 6: TOBACCO AND ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

§ 11-101. DEFINITIONS.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:

ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE. An electronic and/or battery-operated device, the use of which may resemble smoking that can be used to deliver an inhaled dose of nicotine or other substances. ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICE includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed or sold as an electronic cigarette, an electronic cigar, an electronic cigarillo, an electronic pipe, an electronic hookah, vape device, electronic transfer device, or any other product name or descriptor:

INDOOR WORKPLACE. Any indoor place of employment or employment-type service for or at the request of another individual or individuals, or any public or private entity, whether part-time or full-time and whether for compensation or not. Such services shall include, without limitation, any service performed by an owner, employee, independent contractor, agent, partner, proprietor, manager, officer, director, apprentice, trainee, associate, servant or volunteer. An INDOOR WORKPLACE includes work areas, employee lounges, restrooms, conference rooms, classrooms, employee cafeterias, hallways, any other spaces used or visited by employees, and all space between a floor and ceiling that is predominantly or totally enclosed by walls or windows, regardless of doors, doorways, open or closed windows, stairways, or the like. The provisions of this section shall apply to such INDOOR WORKPLACE at any given time, whether or not work is being performed;

MUNICIPALLY OWNED PROPERTY. All buildings, indoor areas, and outdoor areas including but not limited to recreational areas, and other property or portions thereof, owned, leased or operated by the City of Guthrie, including but not limited to vehicles and equipment owned by the municipality.

OUTDOOR AREA. Any covered area, partially covered area or area open to the sky that is on a property owned by the city.

PUBLIC PLACE. Any enclosed indoor area where individuals other than employees are invited or permitted; the term is synonymous with the phrase any indoor place used by or open to the public;

RECREATIONAL AREA. Any area that is owned, controlled or used by the City of Guthrie, Oklahoma and open to the general public for recreational purposes, regardless of any fee or age requirement. The term Recreational Area includes but is not limited to parks, picnic areas, playgrounds, sports fields, golf courses, walking paths, gardens, hiking trails, bike paths, riding trails, swimming pools, roller- and ice-skating rinks, beaches surrounding lakes and skateboard parks.

RESTAURANT. Any eating establishment regardless of seating capacity;

SMOKING. The carrying by a person of a lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other lighted smoking device.

STAND-ALONE BAR, STAND-ALONE TAVERN, AND CIGAR BAR. An establishment that derives more than 60 percent of its gross receipts, subject to verification by competent authority, from the sale of alcoholic beverages and low-point beer and no person under 21 years of age is admitted, except for members of a musical band employed or hired as provided in paragraph 2 of subsection B of Section 537 of Title 37 of the Oklahoma Statutes and that is not located within, and does not share any common entryway or common indoor area with, any other enclosed indoor workplace, including a restaurant.

TOBACCO PRODUCT. Any substance containing tobacco leaf or nicotine derived from the tobacco leaf, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, snus, bidis, vape or e-liquids, or any other preparation of tobacco; and any product or formulation of matter containing biologically active amounts of nicotine that is manufactured, sold, offered for sale, or otherwise distributed with the expectation that the product or matter will be introduced into the human body. TOBACCO PRODUCT does not include any cessation product specifically approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in treating nicotine or tobacco dependence.

§ 11-102. PROHIBITION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND ELECTRONIC SMOKING DEVICES, AND VAPOR PRODUCTS IN OR ON MUNICIPALLY OWNED PROPERTY CERTAIN PLACES PROHIBITED.

(a) Prohibitions shall apply to all persons at all times.

(b) The possession and/or use of lighted tobacco in any form is a public nuisance and dangerous to public health and is hereby prohibited when such possession is in any indoor place used by or open to the public, public transportation, or any indoor workplace, except where specifically allowed by law. in all places in which smoking tobacco products is prohibited by Oklahoma State Law.

(b) All buildings and other municipally owned properties, including but not limited to vehicles, indoor and outdoor areas, owned, leased, or operated by the City of Guthrie, shall be entirely tobacco free to include from use of all forms of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices. Public sidewalks and streets are excluded from this provision, but smoking is not allowed within 15 feet of exterior door or intake of a municipal property.

(c) All indoor and outdoor recreational areas owned or operated by the City of Guthrie, shall be entirely tobacco free to include from use of all forms of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices.

(d) Public airport hangar areas.

§ 11-103. EXEMPTIONS. RESERVED.

The restrictions provided in Section 11-102 shall not apply to the following:

(a) stand-alone bars, stand-alone taverns and cigar bars;

(b) the room or rooms where licensed charitable bingo games are being operated, but only during the hours of operation of such games;

(c) up to 25 percent of the guest rooms at a hotel or other lodging establishment;

(d) retail tobacco stores predominantly engaged in the sale of tobacco products and accessories and in which the sale of other products is merely incidental and in which no food or beverage is sold or served for consumption on the premises;

(e) workplaces where only the owner or operator of the workplace, or the immediate family of the owner or operator, performs any work in the workplace, and the workplace has only incidental public access. INCIDENTAL PUBLIC ACCESS means that a place of business has only an occasional person, who is not an employee, present at the business to transact business or make a delivery. It does not include businesses that depend on walk-in customers for any part of their business;

(f) workplaces occupied exclusively by one or more smokers, if the workplace has only incidental public access;

(g) private offices occupied exclusively by one or more smokers;

(h) private residences and workplaces within private residences, except that smoking shall not be allowed inside any private residence that is used as a licensed child care facility during hours of operation;

(i) medical research or treatment centers, if smoking is integral to the research or  treatment;

(j) a facility operated by a post or organization of past or present members of the Armed Forces of the United States which is exempt from taxation pursuant to Sections 501 (c)(8), 501 (c)(10) or 501 (c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C., Sections 501 (c)(8), 501 (c)(10) or 501 (c)(19), when such facility is utilized exclusively by its members and their families and for the conduct of post or organization nonprofit operations except during an event or activity which is open to the public; and

(k) any outdoor seating area of a restaurant; provided, smoking shall not be allowed within 15 feet of any exterior public doorway or any air intake of a restaurant.

(l) public sidewalks and streets, but smoking is not allowed within 15 feet of exterior door or intake of a public place.

(m) on board a personal water craft of personal truck or automobile

(n) airport hangar lease private space under existing lease, but not leases entered into after effective date of this ordinance.

§ 11-104. DESIGNATED SMOKING ROOMS AND AREAS. RESERVED.

(a) An employer not otherwise restricted from doing so under this article may elect to provide smoking rooms where no work is performed except for cleaning and maintenance during the time the room is not in use for smoking, provided each smoking room is fully enclosed and exhausted directly to the outside in such a manner that no smoke can drift or circulate into a nonsmoking area. No exhaust from a smoking room shall be located within 15 feet of any entrance, exit or air intake.

(b) If smoking is to be permitted in any space exempted in Section 7-33 of this article or in a smoking room pursuant to Subsection (a) of this section, such smoking space must either occupy the entire enclosed indoor space or, if it shares the enclosed space with any nonsmoking areas, the smoking space shall be fully enclosed, exhausted directly to the outside with no air from the smoking space circulated to any nonsmoking area, and under negative air pressure so that no smoke can drift or circulate into a nonsmoking area when a door to an adjacent nonsmoking area is opened. Air from a smoking room shall not be exhausted within 15 feet of any entrance, exit or air intake. Any employer may choose a more restrictive smoking policy, including being totally smoke free.

(c) A nursing facility licensed pursuant to the Nursing Home Care Act may designate smoking rooms for residents and their guests. Such rooms shall be fully enclosed, directly exhausted to the outside, and shall be under negative air pressure so that no smoke can escape when a door is opened and no air is recirculated to nonsmoking areas of the building.

(d) Restaurants shall be totally nonsmoking or may provide nonsmoking areas and designated smoking rooms. Food and beverage may be served in such designated smoking rooms which shall be in a location which is fully enclosed, directly exhausted to the outside, under negative air pressure so smoke cannot escape when a door is opened, and no air is recirculated to nonsmoking areas of the building. No exhaust from such room shall be located within 25 feet of any entrance, exit or air intake. Such room shall be subject to verification for compliance with the provisions of this subsection by the State Department of Health.

§ 11-105. POSTING.

(a) The person who owns or operates a place where smoking or tobacco use is prohibited by State law or City Ordinance shall be responsible for posting a sign or decal, at least four inches by two inches in size, at each entrance to the building indicating that the place is smoke-free or tobacco-free.; and/or a weather resistant sign of at least fifteen inches by fifteen inches or twelve inches by eighteen inches with a minimum of one inch lettering at the entrance to outdoor areas.

(b) Responsibility for posting signs or decals shall be as follows:

(1) In privately owned facilities, the owner or lessee, if a lessee is in possession of the facilities, shall be responsible;

(2) In corporately owned facilities, the manager and/or supervisor of the facility involved shall be responsible; and

(3) In publicly municipally owned facilities, the manager and/or supervisor of the facility shall be responsible.

§ 11-106. PENALTY.

Any violation of any provision contained in the article is an offence against the City of Guthrie and upon conviction of any such offense the violator shall be punished by fine of up to $200.00 plus court costs.

Section 2. That all other ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of any such conflict or inconsistency and all other ordinances not in conflict herewith shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 3. The provisions of this Ordinance are severable, and if any part or provision hereof shall be adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such adjudication shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions hereof.

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