This week, voters in Kearney, Mo. will decide if it’s time to snuff out smoking in all of the city’s public places, though the effects will be felt primarily by a small group of bars and restaurants as well as the local VFW Post. The ballot measure seeks to do away for all exemptions to the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act, which also includes businesses that derive the majority of their revenue from tobacco sales. The proposal does contain exemptions for up to 25% of a hotel or motel’s rooms to be designated as smoking, while bars and restaurants would be able to have outdoor patios where smoking would be permitted. In May, the city’s Board of Aldermen decided that it should be the voters who get to make the call as opposed to the ruling coming from them. Should it pass, the changes would go into effect in 30 days and violators would be subject to a $50 fine, with a maximum fine of $500 for repeated violations by business owners. Kearney is located approximately 25 miles northeast of Kansas City and had a 2013 population estimate of 9,038 people.
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