Public Hearing On Texas Legislation April 14

[mmpjim]

Ya'll contact your state senator and rep. Hand written notes get the most attention but an email will do the trick....if they don't hear from us, they don't know that we oppose this one.

[cruisin66stang]

I will apologize up front for this note being rather long, but I wanted to share my experience last week with the smoking legislation that is being circulated in the Texas Senate and House. I will begin by thanking Patsy at The Briar Shoppe (Houston) for sending an e-mail alerting customers to the legislation. I will also recognize Ralph Pina at Fumee’ (Austin) for helping me determine the time and location for the hearing and for keeping the shop open way past closing time Monday night.

I got Patsy’s e-mail around lunch on Monday and by 5 pm, my son Keith and I were on the road to Austin. We got to Fumee’ around 9 pm and received a warm welcome from Ralph and his customers. Heather was out of town so we did not get to visit with her. Monday night is munchy night at Fumee’ so we enjoyed some munchies, coffee and a couple of cigars. The shop layout is very nice and relaxing with a well stocked humidor. They close at 10 pm but we did not leave until around 11:15. Ralph is there to serve his customers and did a fantastic job.

After finding a hotel about two blocks from the capital, Keith and I got to sleep around 1 am and set the alarm for 7 am. We were at the capital building shortly after 8 am. We quickly found other people who were there for the smoking legislation. Most people were involved in either the retail or wholesale distribution of cigars, so we got to meet distributors and shop owners from around the state. Around 8:30 we were ushered into the Senate chambers and began signing our petition cards. We also indicated on the cards whether or not we wanted to speak at the hearing. This committee had 18 bills to review on Tuesday. Due to the large number of people there for the smoking legislation, they moved that bill to end of the list. This meant that the bill would not come up for review until around 3 or 4 pm.

Since we had some time to kill, we all left and roamed around Congress Ave. There is a very nice cigar shop/lounge about two blocks from the capital building called Bolivar Lounge. Several of us found our way to Bolivar and spent most of the morning smoking cigars and talking to Charlie who is the owner. After lunch we went back to the capital and stood around until the bill came up for discussion at 4 pm.

When Sen. Rodney Ellis introduced the bill, he included an amendment with some of the changes proposed by the Texas Cigar Merchants Association. The revised amendments excluded cigar shops and cigar bars from the smoking ban, but prohibited the establishment of any new shops or bars after May 15. This creates a monopoly for anyone currently in business but also de-values their business because they can never sell it. When you sell a bar the new owner must get a new license and the bill prohibits new cigar licenses after May 15. We were all glad to see some of the changes but disappointed that it still contained unreasonable restrictions.

Sen. Ellis introduced five experts on the harmful effects of smoking. It was interesting that in all of the testimony from these 5 experts, only one made a reference to cigars. And this reference merely insinuated that cigars must be worse than cigarettes with no supporting documentation. When they were finished the chair of this committee informed the audience that 144 people had signed petitions against the smoking ban. I do not know an exact number, but my guess is that around 40 of these 144 people also requested to speak. Each person got 3 minutes to state their opinions. The committee was clearly overwhelmed by the response and I got the impression that most of them were sincerely listening to the speakers. I won’t go into all of the details but the opinions expressed included references to smoker’s rights, civil liberties, loss of jobs and tax revenue, health effects of cigarettes vs. cigars, rights of workers who choose to work in cigar establishments and on and on. The speakers were winding down around 5:30 so Keith and left to get back to Houston.

I am glad that I got to witness and participate in our legislative process. There will be another hearing for the House bill and I encourage everyone who can participate to do so. I will also encourage you to spread the word to your friends and to the owners of your local retail stores. Our voice needs to be heard.

In closing, and for clarification of my position, I believe that the free market should resolve smoking issues, not the legislature. But the no-smoking legislation is rolling and will be hard to stop. I believe in the rights of both smokers and non-smokers and have no desire to expose someone to cigar smoke who will be offended or hurt. But I believe that I should have the right to enjoy a cigar and alcoholic beverage in a cigar bar or lounge with my friends. People who do not enjoy cigar smoke have the right to go somewhere else. There is room for everyone’s rights to be preserved and we need to seek that common ground.

[tx_tuff]

Thanks for all the updates Allen. I'm glad so many people showed up and that many of them spoke.