§ 20-9. Smoking in public places.
(a)
Purpose. The purpose of this section is to:
(1)
Improve and protect the public's health by eliminating smoking in public places and workplaces;
(2)
Promote the right of nonsmokers to breathe smoke-free air; and
(3)
Recognize that the need to breathe smoke-free air shall have priority over the choice to smoke.
(b)
Definitions.
Bar means an area that is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and in which the serving of food is only incidental to the consumption of such beverages. A "bar" includes those facilities located within a restaurant, hotel, motel or other similar transient occupancy establishment and those establishments that allow guests to bring their own alcoholic beverages for consumption on premises. For purposes of this section, a bar includes any place where alcohol is consumed, whether purchased on or brought to the premises.
Business means 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.
Employee means a person who is employed by an employer in consideration for direct or indirect monetary wages or profit, and a person who volunteers his or her services for a nonprofit entity.
Employer means a person, partnership, corporation, including a municipal corporation, or non-profit entity, which employs the services of one (1) or more persons.
Enclosed area means a space that is enclosed on all sides by solid walls that extend from the floor to the ceiling (exclusive of windows, doors or passageways), including all space therein screened by partitions which do not extend to the ceiling or are not solid.
Fraternal organization means a non-profit organization that:
(1)
Is chartered by a national organization in existence since 1953;
(2)
Is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(8), (10), or (19) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(3)
Operates under a lodge system with a representative form of government; and
(4)
Is organized for the exclusive benefit of the members of the organization and their dependents.
Operator means the owner or person in charge of a public place or workplace, including an employer.
Private club means an organization, whether incorporated or not, which is the owner, lessee, or occupant of a building or portion thereof used exclusively for club purposes at all times, which is operated solely for a recreational, fraternal, social, patriotic, political, benevolent, or athletic purpose, but not for pecuniary gain, and which only sells alcoholic beverages incidental to its operation. The affairs and management of the organization are conducted by a board of directors, executive committee, or similar body chosen by the members at an annual meeting. The organization has established bylaws and/or a constitution to govern its activities. The organization has been granted an exemption from the payment of federal income tax as a club under 26 U.S.C. Section 501.
Private place means any enclosed area to which the public is not invited or in which the public is not permitted, including but not limited to, personal residences, fraternal clubs or personal automobiles. A privately-owned business, open to the public, is not a "private place."
Public place means an enclosed area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including but not limited to, banks, bars, educational facilities, health care facilities, laundromats, public transportation facilities, reception areas, restaurants, retail food production and marketing establishments, retail service establishments, retail stores, shopping malls, sports arenas, theaters and waiting rooms. A private residence is not a "public place" unless it is used as a child care, adult day care, or health care facility.
Restaurant means an eating establishment, including but not limited to, coffee shops, cafeterias, sandwich stands, and private and public school cafeterias, which gives or offers for sale food to the public, guests, or employees, as well as kitchens and catering facilities in which food is prepared on the premises for serving elsewhere.
Retail tobacco store means a retail store used primarily for the sale of tobacco products and accessories and in which the sale of other non-tobacco products is incidental.
Service line means any indoor line at which one (1) or more persons are waiting for or receiving service of any kind, whether or not such service involves the exchange of money.
Smoking means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, weed, plant, or other combustible substance in any manner or in any form.
Sports arena means sport pavilions, gymnasiums, health spas, boxing arenas, swimming pools, roller and ice rinks, bowling alleys 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.
Workplace means an 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 restroom, conference and classrooms, employee cafeterias and hallways. A private residence is a "workplace" if it is used as a child care, adult day care or health facility.
(c)
Prohibition of smoking in public places.
(1)
A person commits an offense if the person smokes in an enclosed public place, as well as those outdoor areas designated in subsections (d) and (e), including, but not limited to, the following places:
a.
Elevators;
b.
Restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, hallways and any other common-use areas;
c.
Buses, bus terminals, taxicabs, train stations, airports and other facilities and means of public transit under the authority of the City of Pearland, as well as ticket, boarding, and waiting areas of public transportation facilities;
d.
Service lines;
e.
Retail stores, shopping malls and restaurants;
f.
All enclosed areas available to and customarily used by the general public in all business, including but not limited to, attorneys' offices and other offices, banks, laundromats, hotels and motels;
g.
Bars;
h.
Bowling alleys, pool halls, and amusement arcades;
i.
Galleries, libraries, and museums;
j.
Any facility which is primarily used for exhibiting any motion picture, stage, drama, lecture, musical recital or other similar performance, except that performers may smoke when the smoking is part of a stage production;
k.
Indoor sports arenas and convention halls;
l.
Every room, chamber, place of meeting or public assembly, including school buildings (public or private), under the control of any board, council, commission, committee, including joint committees, or agencies of the City of Pearland or any political subdivision of the state during such time as a public meeting is in progress;
m.
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;
n.
Lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multiple-unit residential facilities;
o.
Polling places;
p.
Bingo facilities;
q.
Adult entertainment enterprises;
r.
Private clubs when being used for a function to which the general public is invited;
(2)
A person commits an offense if the person smokes in an enclosed area of a workplace without exception. This includes common work areas, auditoriums, classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, private offices, elevators, hallways, medical facilities, cafeterias, employee lounges, stairs, restrooms, vehicles, and all other enclosed facilities.
(3)
A person commits an offense if the person smokes within twenty-five (25) feet from an entrance, operable window, or ventilation system of an enclosed area in which smoking is prohibited.
(4)
The owner or operator of a public place commits an offense if the person fails to take necessary steps to prevent or stop another person from smoking in an enclosed area in a public place.
(d)
Prohibition of smoking at public outdoor events. A person commits an offense if the person smokes in the seating area of an outdoor arena, stadium or amphitheater.
(e)
Reasonable distance. Smoking is prohibited within a reasonable distance of not less than twenty-five (25) feet outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited.
(f)
Application of article to city-owned facilities. All facilities, including zoos, parks, playgrounds, golf courses, building and vehicles owned, leased or operated by the City of Pearland, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. City-owned facilities shall not be construed to include private boating on city lakes.
(g)
Exceptions from prohibition. This section does not apply to:
(1)
A dwelling unit that is used exclusively for a residential use;
(2)
Private vehicles, except when being used in the course of employment;
(3)
A hotel or motel room designated as a smoking room and rented to a person, provided, however, that no more than twenty (20) percent of hotel and motel rooms rented to guests may be so designated. All smoking rooms on the same floor must be contiguous and smoke from these rooms must not infiltrate into areas where smoking is prohibited under the provisions of this section. The status of rooms as smoking or nonsmoking may not be changed, except to add additional nonsmoking rooms.
(4)
Retail tobacco stores:
a.
In stand-alone physical facilities or other retail space provided that smoke for the subject store does not infiltrate areas where smoking is prohibited under the provisions of this section; and
b.
Where sales of incidental products shall not exceed ten (10) percent of total gross sales; sales of incidental products shall not include the sale of alcohol regardless of percentage of total gross sales; and
c.
Where no alcohol is consumed on the premises.
(5)
A private or semi-private room in a nursing home or long-term care facility that is occupied by individuals who smoke and have requested in writing to be placed in a room where smoking is permitted; provided that smoke from these places does not infiltrate into areas where smoking is prohibited under the provisions of this section.
(6)
An outdoor area of a workplace that is not in the area described by subsection (c)(2) (prohibition of smoking in public places);
(7)
Private clubs that have no employees, except when being used for a function to which the general public is invited. This exemption shall not apply to any organization that is established for the purpose of avoiding compliance with this section.
(8)
Areas designated within a hospital psychiatric unit.
(h)
Outdoor distance exceptions. A person may smoke within twenty-five (25) feet of an entrance to a restricted smoking facility if:
(1)
The entrance is not a primary public pedestrian entrance to the premises; or
(2)
The distance between the entrance and the adjacent roadway is less than twenty-five (25) feet.
(i)
Employer responsibilities.
(1)
Except as provided in subsection (2), an employer shall provide a smoke-free workplace for employees.
(2)
If an employer requires employees to work in an area described in subsections (g)(2) through (6) (exceptions from prohibition), the employer shall make reasonable accommodations for an employee who requests assignment to a smoke-free area.
(3)
Each employer having any enclosed workplace located within the City of Pearland shall adopt, implement and maintain a written smoke policy, which shall contain the following requirements:
Smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed facilities within a workplace without exception. This includes common work areas, auditoriums, classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, private offices, elevators, hallways, medical facilities, cafeterias, employee lounges, stairs, restrooms, vehicles, and all other enclosed facilities.
Additionally, smoking is prohibited with a reasonable distance of not less than twenty-five (25) feet outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems of enclose areas where smoking is prohibited.
(4)
The smoking policy shall be communicated to all employees within four (4) weeks of its adoption and posted conspicuously in all workplaces under the employer's jurisdiction.
(5)
All employers shall supply a written copy of the smoking policy upon request to any existing or prospective employees.
(j)
Voluntary designation of a nonsmoking facility. Nothing in this section implies that the operator of an enclosed or outdoor public place is prohibited from designated the entire facility as nonsmoking.
(k)
Signs required.
(1)
The operator of a public place shall conspicuously post a "No Smoking" sign, the international "No Smoking" symbol (depiction of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it), or other sign containing words or pictures that reasonably prohibit smoking. The signs shall be written in contrasting colors with bold block lettering of not less than one (1) inch in height and must be posted:
a.
In each public place and workplace where smoking is prohibited by this section; and
b.
At each entrance to a public place or workplace.
(2)
The operator of a public place shall conspicuously post signs in areas where smoking is permitted under subsection (c) (exceptions from prohibition).
(3)
The operator of a public place and an employer shall remove any ashtray or other smoking accessory from a place where smoking is prohibited.
(4)
It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that an operator failed to post a sign required under this section.
(l)
Retaliation prohibited.
(1)
A person commits an offense if the person discharges, refuses to hire, or retaliates against a customer, employee, or applicant for employment because the customer, employee or applicant for employment reports a violation of this section.
(2)
An employee who works in a setting where an employer allows smoking does not waive or otherwise surrender any legal rights the employee may have against the employer or any other party.
(m)
Enforcement.
(1)
This section is cumulative of other laws providing enforcement authority.
(2)
This article shall be enforced by the director of health and sanitation department or any authorized designee, fire department, police department, building inspections division or designee, code enforcement officers and the city manager or designee.
(3)
Any citizen may report a violation of this section to the director of the health and sanitation department.
(4)
The city manager may authorize a city employee conducting an inspection under any provision of the ordinance to also inspect for compliance with this section and issue a citation for a violation of this section.
(5)
An owner, manager, operator, or employee of an establishment regulated by this section shall inform persons violating the ordinance of the appropriate provisions thereof.
(6)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an employee or private citizen may bring legal action to require the city to enforce this section.
(7)
In addition to the remedies provided by the provisions of this section, the city manager or the director of health and sanitation department may apply for injunctive relief to enforce these provisions in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(n)
Violation and penalties.
(1)
A person who violates the provisions of this section commits a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). A culpable mental state is not required for a violation of this section, and need not be proved.
(2)
A person who owns, manages, operates, or otherwise controls a public place or workplace and who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an infraction, punishable by:
a.
A fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a first violation.
b.
A fine not exceeding four hundred dollars ($400.00) for a second violation within a period of twelve (12) consecutive months.
c.
A fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation within a period of twelve (12) consecutive months.
(3)
The city manager may suspend or revoke a permit or license issued to the operator of a public place or workplace where a violation of this section occurs.
(4)
Each day an offense occurs is a separate violation.
(5)
Violation of this section is hereby declared to be a public nuisance, which may be abated by the director of health by restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction, or other means provided for by law, and the city may take action to recover the costs of the nuisance abatement.
(o)
Public education.
(1)
The city manager shall:
a.
Obtain or develop a comprehensive tobacco education program to educate the public about the harmful effect of tobacco and its addictive qualities.
b.
Conduct informational activities to notify and educate businesses and the public about this section; and
c.
Coordinate the city's tobacco education program with other civic or volunteer groups organized to promote smoking prevention and tobacco education.
(2)
To implement this section, the city manager may publish and distribute educational materials relating to this section to businesses, their employees, and the public.
(p)
Governmental agency cooperation. The city manager shall annually request that each federal, state, county, and school district agency with a facility in the city adopt local operating procedures and update its existing smoking control regulation in compliance with this section.
(q)
Application of other law. This section is cumulative of other laws that regulate smoking. This section shall not be interpreted or construed to permit smoking where it is otherwise restricted by other applicable laws.
(Ord. No. 1330, 11-19-07)