While it looked like the Casper City Council was on track to repeal the city’s previous smoking bans, at a special meeting on Tuesday night they decided to put the matter in the hands of voters. Just a week ago, the council voted to repeal the previous two smoking bans, one passed in 2012 that banned smoking in all public places including bars and restaurants, and the other that was passed in 2013, which allowed people to smoke in drinking establishments. Assuming the council would have again voted for a repeal on Tuesday, a third vote would still have been needed before the repeal would be effective. Now, a special election must be held in no less than 20 and no more than 60 days from last night’s meeting, something that will cost the city an estimated $30,000, according to several reports, including one by K2Radio.com. Voters will now decide whether to uphold 2013’s version, dubbed ‘Smoking Ban Light,’ or go back to the total smoking ban from 2012, dubbed ‘Smoking Ban Fully Leaded.’ Casper is the state’s second largest city with a population of nearly 55,000 residents.
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