caudio51
04-25-2007, 06:35 AM
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/NEWS/704250343/1004/NEWS01
Smoking in cars with kids could yield fine
Keyport ban cites health risk
Posted by the Asbury Park Press (http://www.app.com/) on 04/25/07
BY KEVIN PENTON (KPENTON@APP.COM)
KEYPORT BUREAU
KEYPORT — People who smoke while riding in a vehicle with a child will risk getting a $75 ticket if they pass through the borough, which banned the practice on Tuesday.
Keyport became the first municipality in the state to enact such a ban, allowing police to issue the ticket if they pull someone over for a primary offense, such as speeding, and see the practice occurring.
Police would not be allowed to detain a vehicle and issue the ticket if they did not witness a primary offense, said John Wisniewski, Keyport's attorney.
Jon Barone, a member of the Keyport Board of Health who initially proposed that the borough consider the ordinance, thanked the Borough Council for adopting it.
"There may be some Keyport residents who feel they're finding it harder and harder to smoke in public," Barone said. "We need to protect the rights of our children."
Daniel Rice, one of a handful of residents who commented on the issue, questioned whether the government should police bad parenting.
"If (parents) take (their) kids to McDonald's three times a week instead of every once in a while, are we going to fine them?" asked Rice, who said he is a nonsmoker. "I don't think every good idea needs to be passed into law."
Resident Isaiah Cooper questioned whether Keyport would be willing to commit the financial resources to withstand a legal challenge on the ordinance.
Wisniewski said he believes the ordinance could only be challenged by someone who has been penalized by it.
Mayor Robert Bergen noted that even if police witness the offense, they have the discretion of issuing a ticket or simply a warning.
"My sense is that there would be a very small number of these tickets issued," Bergen said.
Chatham considered a similar ordinance last month, but officials turned it down.
Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, has said he plans to ask the state Senate's Judiciary Committee next month to consider a statewide ban on the practice.
Barone, a family nurse practitioner, said he hopes Keyport's adoption of the smoking ban will help create a groundswell of support for the statewide ban.
"I think we've made an unprecedented decision," Barone said.
Smoking in cars with kids could yield fine
Keyport ban cites health risk
Posted by the Asbury Park Press (http://www.app.com/) on 04/25/07
BY KEVIN PENTON (KPENTON@APP.COM)
KEYPORT BUREAU
KEYPORT — People who smoke while riding in a vehicle with a child will risk getting a $75 ticket if they pass through the borough, which banned the practice on Tuesday.
Keyport became the first municipality in the state to enact such a ban, allowing police to issue the ticket if they pull someone over for a primary offense, such as speeding, and see the practice occurring.
Police would not be allowed to detain a vehicle and issue the ticket if they did not witness a primary offense, said John Wisniewski, Keyport's attorney.
Jon Barone, a member of the Keyport Board of Health who initially proposed that the borough consider the ordinance, thanked the Borough Council for adopting it.
"There may be some Keyport residents who feel they're finding it harder and harder to smoke in public," Barone said. "We need to protect the rights of our children."
Daniel Rice, one of a handful of residents who commented on the issue, questioned whether the government should police bad parenting.
"If (parents) take (their) kids to McDonald's three times a week instead of every once in a while, are we going to fine them?" asked Rice, who said he is a nonsmoker. "I don't think every good idea needs to be passed into law."
Resident Isaiah Cooper questioned whether Keyport would be willing to commit the financial resources to withstand a legal challenge on the ordinance.
Wisniewski said he believes the ordinance could only be challenged by someone who has been penalized by it.
Mayor Robert Bergen noted that even if police witness the offense, they have the discretion of issuing a ticket or simply a warning.
"My sense is that there would be a very small number of these tickets issued," Bergen said.
Chatham considered a similar ordinance last month, but officials turned it down.
Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, has said he plans to ask the state Senate's Judiciary Committee next month to consider a statewide ban on the practice.
Barone, a family nurse practitioner, said he hopes Keyport's adoption of the smoking ban will help create a groundswell of support for the statewide ban.
"I think we've made an unprecedented decision," Barone said.