Stubbed out
Smoke 'em if you got 'em, just not on the floor of the state House or Senate.
Back at the end of January the N.C. Senate banned smoking in its chamber. Until this year, Senators were free to puff away during sessions if they were so inclined.
The N.C. House banned smoking in 2003. Smoking is banned in the visitors' galleries of both houses.
However, you are free to light up in the hallways, lobbies and the ever-popular back rooms, which just wouldn't be the same if they weren't smoke-filled.
As long as neither chamber bans the bottle of hooch Scoop has stashed in our filing cabinet, we'll all get along just fine.
To read the Senate rules click here.
Comments (2)
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Why does the Senate get different rules than the rest of the world?
Posted on February 22, 2005 6:02 PM
Legislative bodies are famous for exempting themselves from the rules that apply to everyone else. In my line of work, open meetings laws come to mind.
I once wrote a story about new federal smoking guidelines that sent U.S. employees onto the street in the dead of winter to catch a drag. In the mean time, Senators and Congressmen were lighting up in the cloak rooms just off the floors of the House and Senate. I would think the situation is still much the same.
It may not be savory, but those who write the laws generally get to choose to whom they are applied.
Posted on February 23, 2005 4:56 PM