O'Fallon Council Member Fired Up Over Smoking Ban

O’Fallon voters passed the , placing a ban on smoking at most of the city’s restaurants, bars and public places.

In December the citizen’s group gathered more than 1,900 signatures to place the initiative on the April 2011 ballot. The measure passed with 73 percent of the vote. According to city officials, the new rules go into effect in June.

But if Ward 2 Councilman Jim Pepper can help it--there will be changes to the ordinance. 

“This is the only time I’ve ever heard of someone walking in and telling an owner how to run their business,” he said.

Pepper said the city ordinance is too restrictive and violates Missouri statutes. He plans to introduce an amendment to the ordinance, which  he said would bring it into compliance with the Missouri Clean Indoor Air Act.

As it stands, O’Fallon’s ordinance has few exemptions. The only places where smoking is not regulated include:

• private residences
• private clubs that have no employees
• hotels and motels where no more than 20 percent are designated as smoking rooms
• some cigar bars and tobacco stores. 

Smokers who violate the terms face fines up to $50. Business owners who fail to comply face $500 fines and possible suspension of licenses or permits. The ordinance states that each day a violation occurs is considered a separate violation.

Pepper said the ordinance is too strict.

“It’s saying every place you walk into is a public place, and it’s not,” he said. “How can these people dictate to the and now they’re trying to take those freedoms away? What’s next in government—the recycle police?”

Pepper said his stand is not about the health dangers of smoking; it's about property rights and individual responsibility.

Last week, he filed a complaint with the IRS, charging that the anti-smoking group Tobacco-Free St. Louis overstepped its bounds as a non-profit organization with contributions to Smoke-Free O’Fallon’s campaign. Pepper said he is also considering filing a complaint against the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Pepper said he believes these organizations have violated their 501(c)3 status by contributing funds to lobby for a political issue.

According to Missouri Ethics Commission reports, contributions to the smoke-free air act campaign totaled $8,275 and came from:

• BJC Healthcare $2,500
• Partners for Progress $5,000
• American Cancer Society $500
• Tobacco Free St. Louis $250
• O’Fallon resident Wendy Prakop $25

IRS Media Relations Director Michael Devine said disclosure laws prevent him from commenting on any activities involving tax-payers and tax-exempt organizations. But officials from the anti-smoking groups say their lobbying efforts did not violate their 501(c)3 terms.

Stacy Henry Reliford, field government relations director for the American Cancer Society, said a large non-profit organization like hers can contribute an insubstantial amount of their resources for lobbying efforts.

“We are permitted to support or oppose ballot issues,” she said, adding that these efforts fall in line with the American Cancer Society's prevention mission.

Reliford said the organization uses several systems to track its expenditures and the $500 contribution to the O'Fallon effort complied with federal tax laws.

In an email, Pat Lindsey, executive director of Tobacco-Free St. Louis, told O’Fallon Patch that the organization was well within its 501(c)3 limits with the $250 donation.

She said Tobacco-Free St. Louis has been involved with educating St. Charles County residents by organizing speakers, booths and training sessions in the area for years.

“We are not outsiders nor are we new to the area,” Lindsey stated. “Mr. Pepper apparently is not aware of the tobacco education that takes place in his surrounding community.”

Pepper said while he supports the anti-smoking groups’ efforts around cancer research and education, he is against their involvement in a municipal issue.

“This is a political move and they should not be involved in politics,” he said. “This was a local issue and should have been funded and decided locally.”