Smoking would be banned in all state government buildings and in the buildings and grounds of all K-12 public schools in the commonwealth under two measures passed Tuesday by the Senate Local Government Committee.
The sponsor of both proposals Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, said he was following up on an executive order issued by Gov. Tim Kaine to ban smoking in all of the state's executive offices and trying to keep children from "taking that first puff."
Under the measure to prohibit smoking in state-owned buildings, local governments would have the option of banning smoking in their offices and buildings.
The ban in goverment buldings passed the committee on a vote of 11-4; the ban on school grounds passed 12-3.
While Northam scored a victory on his quest to protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke, two similar messures were killed in the House of Delegates General Laws Committee earlier Tuesday.
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