Bill to Ban Smoking in Public Places Heads to Governor's Desk

The Tennessee Legislature completed action on a bill to ban most indoor smoking _ including in restaurants. It goes to Governor Bredesen who says he'll sign it. Bars, private clubs and businesses with up to three employees would be exempt from the ban.

The measure cleared the House 84-to-10, and it then passed the Senate 28-to-2.

House Agriculture Chairman Stratton Bone of Lebanon, a former tobacco farmer, said he sponsored the bill because public opinion supports a ban. About a quarter of Tennesseans smoke.

House Majority Leader Gary Odom of Nashville said the bill as passed is a first step toward more comprehensive change.

But State Representative John Litz of Morristown, a tobacco farmer, said the bill is ``an assault on the property rights of the people of Tennessee.''