Kansas Justices Hear Smoking Ban Case

Wed, December 07, 2011

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Associated Press / Briana O’Higgins

Kansas Supreme Court justices are weighing arguments over a portion of the statewide smoking ban that some bar owners say could put them out of business. Wednesday’s arguments stem from a 2010 Shawnee County District Court injunction that blocked a provision of the statewide ban that applies to a specific class of private clubs.

The Downtown Bar and Grill in Tonganoxie received its club license in May 2009, five months after a cutoff date contained in the law. The bar’s attorney says the date was arbitrary and would force his client out of business if he had to comply with the ban.

State attorneys say the cutoff was designed to keep bars from circumventing the ban by changing their licensing.