A bill that would have lifted the state of Kansas smoking ban in bars where all workers and customers are at least 21 years old failed to make it to a vote Friday in the Kansas House. The bill was sent back to committee instead. That effectively killed it for the remainder of the 2012 legislative session. That disappointed Wichita Republican Brenda Landwehr. She says the law is unfair because it allows smoking in state-approved casinos, but prohibits it in bars and taverns.
Landwehr says the smoking ban has hurt business at small bars across the state. But sales tax data from the Department of Revenue shows that it has not reduced sales in the hospitality industry...which includes bars and restaurants...as a whole.