Schwarzenegger snuffs out park smoking ban
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday vetoed legislation to ban smoking at state-run beaches and parks.
Senate Bill 4 would have established a $100 fine for parkgoers caught smoking. Campsites and a state-run off-road vehicle area at Oceano Dunes near Pismo Beach would have been exempt under the ban.
Supporters said the measure would keep the sites clean and clear the air of secondhand smoke. Tobacco companies opposed the bill, as did the Department of Parks and Recreation, saying it would be too difficult to enforce.
In his veto message Schwarzenegger called the measure an “improper intrusion of government into people’s lives.” He also said he believes the decision should be left to cities and the parks department, which already have the authority to ban smoking at specific sites.
“(By) mandating in a state law that people may not smoke outdoors in certain areas, this bill crosses an important threshold between state power and command and local decision-making,” he wrote.
Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who authored the bill, said in a statement that she would continue to push for a statewide smoking ban at beaches and parks. The Long Beach Democrat has made anti-smoking measures a centerpiece of her legislative career, fighting for this particular measure since 2006.
“I’m sorry the governor did not agree with this widely supported effort to increase public awareness about the environmental threats carelessly tossed cigarettes are doing to our marine life and to the great outdoors,” she said.
By Torey Van Oot, Sacbee