Florida lawmakers are considering passing a new proposal that would ban smoking in all public areas of the Sunshine State.
GOP state Senator Joe Gruters is leading a bipartisan effort to introduce the proposal after the emergence of the latest polls that show that Amendment 3, a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, is likely to succeed in the November elections.
Under this new proposal, the lawmakers are trying to expand the existing legislation that bans any kind of cigarette, cigar, marijuana, and vape smoking on Florida beaches.
However, the new proposals would include other locations as well, including streets, hospitals, parks, highways, government offices, apartment and office buildings, retail shops, public transportation facilities, restaurants, and sidewalks, among other public places.
According to Democratic State Senator Darry Rouson, who is also backing this effort, these new bans will introduce “guardrails” for Amendment 3.
Gruters, who also backs Amendment 3, said that it is time to “regulate” the upcoming passage of the ballot measure. The GOP lawmaker also argued that Florida should be able to distinguish itself from the likes of New York and Vegas, adding that this new law would serve this exact purpose.
Apart from banning the consumption of smoking products, lawmakers are also aiming to ban the “carrying or possessing” of products like cigarettes, pipe tobacco, and cigars, among many other products, in public places.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a firm critic of Amendment 3 and has often maintained that its passage would deteriorate life quality in the state and will only contribute to increasing marijuana smell in the streets.
Gruters stated that he can understand DeSantis’ concerns but still has to back Amendment 3, as his new proposal for a public smoking ban would immediately be dead otherwise.
Florida state Rep. Chip La Marca also announced her willingness to support this proposal in the lower chamber of the state legislature, as she doubled down on the importance of the ban to keep the environment safe for the general public so that they can continue enjoying public spots of the state that is also famous for attracting tourists from across the country.
Meanwhile, Jessica Spencer, the director of an advocacy group, Vote No on 3, slammed Gruters’ proposal and accused him of hypocrisy. She noted that the same lawmakers who are trying to pass the controversial ballot measure by bypassing the state legislature want to ban public smoking through the same legislature that they did not trust in the case of Amendment 3.
