DES MOINES - If lawmakers cannot reach consensus on which businesses, if any, to exempt from a proposed statewide smoking ban, the Legislature should consider a local option plan, State Sen. Bill Dotzler said Friday.

The plan Dotzler, D-Waterloo, advocated on a recording of Iowa Public Television's weekly public affairs program, "Iowa Press," largely has been ignored this year while momentum for a comprehensive statewide plan has grown.

The Iowa House and the Senate chambers have approved statewide smoking bans containing different exemptions.

Notably, the House draft exempts casinos and some private veterans' functions from the smoking ban. The Senate version includes those locations but does not mandate that single-person farm vehicle cabins go smoke-free.

Ban backers in both chambers said including those exemptions were necessary to pass the bill.

Removing or altering those could slice the number of the ban's supporters, Dotzler said.

"There is a possibility that we cannot reach agreement," he said after the recording. Dotzler tried unsuccessfully to have casinos and bars exempted from the Senate plan.

If consensus isn't possible, lawmakers should reconsider a bill to give local governments the authority to vote their communities smoke-free. Dotzler noted that many of the 22 states which have implemented statewide bans gave local governments the power to institute their own bans first.

The Senate last year approved such a plan, only to have it fizzle in the House.

"I think that that ought to be a first step," Dotzler said.

Longtime smoking ban advocate Rep. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said trying to balance the exemptions in each chamber is difficult, but that she isn't willing to settle for the less-inclusive local option proposal yet.

"It would be hard to take baby steps on this issue now that we've seen that we have the ability to move mountains," Petersen said.

A broad, statewide ban would "level the playing field" for Iowa bars and restaurants, whereas a local option would not, Petersen said.

"With local control, maybe only a handful of cities would take action on it, and you're not protecting the work force," Petersen said.

Petersen said she plans to meet with lawmakers this week to determine if a majority of lawmakers in the House can support the revised Senate plan.

Dotzler predicted the contentious issue wouldn't be settled quickly.

"We're caught in a conundrum," Dotzler said after the recording.

Contact Whitney Woodward

at (515) 243-0138 or

whitney.woodward@lee.net.