[Added 2-11-1997 by Res. No. 35-1997, approved 2-21-1997[2]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Article VI, Ambulance Service Operator, added 5-11-1959 by Res. No. 128-1959 and amended 6-1-1960 by Res. No. 144-1960 and 5-1-1963 by Res. No. 141-1963, was repealed 6-20-1967 by Res. No. 234-1967.
[2]
Editor's Note: This resolution also repealed
former Article VII, Smoking in Public Places, added 6-9-1987 by Res.
No. 210-1987.
This article shall be known as "Regulation of
Smoking in Public Places and Worksites."
A.
The Monroe County Board of Health and Monroe County
Legislature hereby find as follows:
(1)
Significant health risks have been determined to be
attributable to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
(2)
According to the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), ETS, also known as secondhand smoke, has been proven
to be carcinogenic and has been designated a Group A (known human)
carcinogen responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths each year in nonsmoking
adults.
(3)
The EPA also concludes that ETS causes other significant
health problems in adults and children, including increasing the risks
of respiratory and middle ear disease, and contributing to an estimated
150,000 to 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and
young children each year.
(4)
Exposure to ETS significantly worsens the condition
of up to 1,000,000 asthmatic children and contributes to new cases
of asthma in once-healthy children.
(5)
Involuntary exposure to ETS presents a substantial
and serious health risk to the residents and workers of Monroe County.
(6)
A balance must be struck between safeguarding citizens
from involuntary exposure to ETS, on the one hand, and minimizing
government intrusion into the affairs of its citizens on the other.
(7)
In some cases, there is a voluntary assumption of
the hazard and, in other cases, an involuntary or coerced exposure.
This wide range of conditions necessitates a tailoring of the regulations
to match various circumstances.
B.
Therefore, the Monroe County Board of Health and Monroe
County Legislature declare that the intent and purpose of this article
is to preserve and improve the public health by limiting the exposure
of the public to ETS.
The following words and phrases, whenever used
in this article, shall be construed as defined in this section:
A business establishment that is devoted to the selling and
serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by patrons on the premises
and in which the service of food is incidental to the business of
the facility. Service of food shall be considered incidental if the
food service generates less than 40% of total annual gross sales.
Any sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation
or other business entity formed for profit-making purposes, including
retail establishments where goods or services are sold as well as
professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical,
dental, engineering, architectural or other professional services
are delivered.
Any person who is employed by any employer for direct or
indirect monetary wages or profit and any person who volunteers his
or her services for a nonprofit entity.
Any person, partnership, corporation, including a municipal
corporation, or nonprofit entity who employs the services of one or
more individual persons.
Any edible substance, ice, beverage (excluding alcohol) or
ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part
for human consumption.
Any facility containing more than one residence unit where
common space or facilities are present for use by the residents or
the general public.
Any enclosed area under the control of a public or private
employer which employees normally frequent during the course of employment,
including but not limited to work areas, employee lounges and restrooms,
conference rooms and classrooms, employee cafeterias, hallways, garages
and indoor loading docks. A private residence is not a place of employment
unless it is used as a child-care or health-care facility.
Any weddings, parties, testimonial dinners or other similar
gatherings in which the seating arrangements are under the control
of the organizer or sponsor of the event and not the person who owns,
manages, operates or otherwise controls the use of the place in which
the function is held.
Any area to which the public is invited or in which the public
is permitted, including but not limited to banks, educational facilities,
correctional facilities, health facilities, bingo halls, indoor recreational
facilities, laundromats, public transportation facilities, reception
areas, restaurants, bars, retail food production and marketing establishments,
malls, retail service establishments, retail stores, showrooms, theaters,
waiting rooms and places of worship. A private residence is not a
public place within the meaning of this article, except that areas
in a private residence where a child-care center, health-care facility
or other business (open to the public) is operated during the times
of operation and areas in a private residence which constitute common
areas of a multiple-unit residence are public places within the meaning
of this article.
Any coffee shop, cafeteria, sandwich shop, private or public
school cafeteria and any other eating establishment which gives or
offers food for sale to the public, guests, members or employees,
as well as kitchens in which food is prepared on the premises for
serving elsewhere, including catering facilities.
A contiguous area of a restaurant, containing a counter,
which is primarily devoted to the selling and serving of alcoholic
beverages. This area shall include seating that is immediately contiguous
to the bar if the bar area is separated from the remaining seating
area by a permanent partition or is on a separate floor.
The area(s) of a restaurant which are primarily devoted to
the serving and consumption of food.
A sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership or other
enterprise in which the primary activity is the sale, manufacture
or promotion of tobacco, tobacco products and accessories either at
wholesale or retail and in which the sale, manufacture or promotion
of other products generates less than 10% of total annual gross sales.
A room provided for smoking by the public in a public area
of an indoor facility or for employees in a private facility. It must
be served by a properly operating and properly maintained separate
ventilation system, exhausted to the outside of the building in such
a way as to prevent the reintroduction of smoke into the building,
and it must be negatively pressurized or provided with doors which
are self-closing or otherwise constructed in such a way as to prevent
the escape of tobacco smoke to the smoke-free areas of the facility.
A separate smoking room shall not comprise more than 25% of the total
area open to the public in a public facility or of the employees in
a private facility.
Any indoor line at which one or more persons are waiting
for or receiving service of any kind, whether or not such service
involves the exchange of money.
Inhaling of, exhaling of, burning of or carrying of any lighted
cigar, cigarette, weed or other plant in any manner or in any form.
Any indoor or outdoor facility where members of the general
public assemble to view and/or participate in scheduled events involving
competitions, exhibitions, entertainment productions, trade shows,
conventions or other events established for common purposes.
Any indoor or outdoor stadium, sports pavilions, gymnasiums,
health spas, boxing arenas, swimming pools, roller and ice rinks,
billiard parlors and other similar places where members of the general
public assemble either to engage in physical exercise, participate
in athletic competition or witness sports events.
All enclosed facilities owned or leased by the
County of Monroe shall be subject to the provisions of this article.
A.
Smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed public
places within the County of Monroe, including but not limited to the
following places:
(1)
Elevators.
(2)
Buses, taxicabs and other means of public transit,
and ticket, boarding and waiting areas of public transit depots.
(3)
Restrooms.
(4)
Service lines.
(5)
Retail stores.
(6)
All areas available to and customarily used by the
general public in all businesses and nonprofit entities patronized
by the public, including but not limited to professional offices,
banks, laundromats, barbershops and beauty shops.
(7)
Restaurants.
(a)
Restaurants without a bar.
(b)
Restaurants with a bar.
[1]
Restaurants with a bar shall designate a contiguous
nonsmoking area in the restaurant dining area consisting of 85% of
its seating capacity.
[2]
Smoking may be allowed in the restaurant bar
area.
[3]
Effective January 1, 1999, restaurants with
a bar shall designate as a nonsmoking area its entire restaurant dining
area, the full 100% of its seating capacity.
(8)
Galleries, libraries, museums and exhibition halls.
(9)
Any facility which is primarily used for exhibiting
any motion picture, stage, drama, lecture, musical recital, cabaret,
comedy production, concert or other similar performance.
(10)
Sports arenas, spectator facilities and convention
halls.
(11)
(12)
Bingo halls.
(a)
Bingo halls shall designate a contiguous nonsmoking
area consisting of 85% of its area.
(b)
Effective January 1, 1999, smoking shall be
prohibited in bingo halls.
(c)
Smoking may be allowed in bingo halls in separate
smoking rooms, provided that the room does not exceed 50% of the total
seating of the facility.
(13)
Every room, chamber, place of meeting or public
assembly, including school buildings, under the control of any board,
council, commission, committee, including joint committees, or agencies
of the county or any political subdivision of the county during such
time as a public meeting is in progress.
(14)
Waiting rooms, hallways, wards and semiprivate
rooms of health facilities, including but not limited to hospitals,
clinics, physical therapy facilities, doctors' offices and dentists'
offices.
(15)
Correctional facilities.
(16)
Lobbies, hallways, offices and other common
areas in multiple-unit residences, condominiums, retirement facilities,
nursing homes and multiple-unit commercial facilities.
A.
It shall be the responsibility of employers to provide
a smoke-free worksite for all employees, but employers are not required
to incur any expense to make structural or other physical modifications
in providing a smoke-free environment.
B.
Each employer having any enclosed place of employment
located within the County of Monroe shall adopt, implement, make known
and maintain a written smoking policy which shall contain the following
requirements: Smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed facilities
within a place of employment without exception. This includes common
work areas, auditoriums, building entryways, classrooms, conference
and meeting rooms, loading docks, garages, private offices, elevators,
hallways, medical facilities, cafeterias, employee lounges, stairways,
restrooms, fleet vehicles and all other enclosed facilities.
C.
The smoking policy shall be communicated to all employees
within three weeks of its adoption.
D.
All employers shall supply a written copy of the smoking
policy upon request to any existing or prospective employee.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this
article, any owner, operator, manager or other person who controls
any establishment described in this article may declare that entire
establishment as a nonsmoking establishment.
A.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article
to the contrary, the following areas shall not be subject to the smoking
restrictions of this article:
(1)
Bars, including restaurant bar areas of restaurants.
(2)
Private residences, except when used as child-care
or health-care facilities or when used as a worksite which is open
to the public or nonresident employee.
(3)
Retail tobacco stores.
(4)
Rooms in which private social functions are
being held where seating arrangements are under the control of the
sponsor of the function and not the owner or operator of the facility.
(5)
Hotel and motel rooms rented to guests.
B.
No area may be designated for smoking where prohibited
by regulation of another agency having jurisdiction.
The person in charge of a facility shall also
be responsible to:
A.
Provide ashtrays and smoking receptacles where smoking
is permitted by this article and maintain locations where smoking
is prohibited free of ashtrays or smoking receptacles.
B.
Enforce this article by requesting compliance from
patrons verbally or by presenting a nonsmoking card and by prohibiting
employees from smoking, except in separate smoking rooms.
C.
Develop and implement a plan of compliance, upon request,
that is acceptable to the Monroe County Department of Health and which
specifies areas where smoking is prohibited, and where smoking is
permitted, if any. The plan must include the manner in which this
information is conveyed to the public and all employees. The plan
shall be available for inspection by the Director of Health or the
Director's designees and shall be provided to the Monroe County Department
of Health upon request.
A.
Variance. The Monroe County Director of Health may,
on written application and after review, grant a variance from a specific
provision of this article, subject to appropriate conditions which
shall include a time schedule for compliance when such variance is
in harmony with the general purposes and intent of this article, and
when there are practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in complying
with such provision.
B.
Waiver. The Monroe County Director of Health, in his
or her sole discretion, may waive, in writing, any of the requirements
of this article when it reasonably appears to the Monroe County Director
of Health that the public health will not be endangered by granting
of such waiver and adequate alternative provisions have been made
to protect the health of nonsmokers. A written application for a waiver
is required. Initial waivers shall be valid for a period of not more
than 24 months and may be renewed upon written reapplication. Under
conditions of renewal, waivers may be granted for periods of time
as deemed appropriate by the Monroe County Director of Health.
C.
Revocation. The Monroe County Director of Health may
revoke any waiver or variance after providing 30 days' written notice
to the applicant/holder.
SMOKING IS PROHIBITED, or NO SMOKING signs,
using the international "NO SMOKING" symbol, consisting of a pictorial
representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle with
a red bar across it, shall be prominently and conspicuously posted
in every place where smoking is regulated by this article. These signs
shall be posted by the owner, operator, manager or other person having
control of such place. SMOKING PERMITTED signs shall be posted where
the conditions established in this article have been met. Such signs
shall be conspicuously posted at doors and entranceways to all facilities
where smoking is permitted anywhere within the facility and at the
entrances to the areas within these facilities where smoking is to
be permitted. All signs shall be protected from tampering, damage,
removal or concealment.
A.
For the purpose of this article the term "enforcement
officer" shall mean the Monroe County Board of Health, or its designee,
the Monroe County Sheriff and other municipal law enforcement agencies
operating in Monroe County.
B.
If the enforcement officer determines after a hearing, pursuant to the Public Health Administrative Hearing Procedures adopted March 12, 1996, that a violation of this article has occurred, a civil penalty may be imposed by the enforcement officer pursuant to § 569-52.8 of this article. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit an enforcement officer from commencing a proceeding for injunctive relief to compel compliance with this article.
C.
Any person who desires to register a complaint under
this article may do so with any appropriate enforcement officer.
D.
The person, firm, corporation or other entity that
owns, manages, operates or otherwise controls the use of an indoor
area open to the public in which smoking is prohibited or restricted
pursuant to this article shall inform, or shall designate an agent
who shall be responsible for informing, individuals smoking in an
area in which smoking is not permitted that they are in violation
of this article.
E.
The decision of any enforcement officer shall be reviewable
pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
F.
The enforcement officer, subsequent to any appeal having been finally determined, may bring an action to recover the civil penalty provided in § 569-52.8 of this article.
G.
The owner, operator, manager or person in charge of
the facility shall permit the Director of Health or the Director's
designees entrance to the facility to determine compliance with this
article.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person who owns, manages,
operates or otherwise controls the use of any premises subject to
regulation under this article to fail to comply with any of its provisions.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to smoke in any
area where smoking is prohibited by the provisions of this article.
C.
Any person who violates any provision of this article
shall be guilty of a violation, punishable by a civil penalty not
to exceed $1,000.
This article shall not be interpreted or construed
to permit smoking where it is otherwise restricted by other applicable
laws.
If any provision, clause, sentence or paragraph
of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances
shall be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other
provisions of this article which can be given effect without the valid
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this article
are declared to be severable.
This article shall take effect on January 1,
1998.
