2007

CTEPA is working to maintain the original intent of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act! We will work to ensure that any attempts to weaken the law fail.

We encourage you to contact your legislators and tell them not to roll back the protections on the health of the workers and all Colorado citizens from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

To stay informed about the progress of tobacco-related legislation at the Capitol, register to receive our action alerts at http://ctepa.org/jtf_get_informed.htm

We are very excited to report that on March 20th, 2006, Governor Bill Owens signed the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act into law!! The legislation, HB 1175, was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 18th, 2006.  The bill was sponsored by Representatives Mike May (R-Parker) and Jack Pommer (D-Longmont) and Senators Dan Grossman (D-Denver) and John Evans (R-Douglas County). The new law will take effect on July 1st, 2006.

After great debate and many attempts to weaken the legislation, HB 1175 passed in a very strong form. The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act will require most enclosed public places and workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, to be smoke-free.  The one major exeption to this new law is for casinos. Unfortunately, casino workers will not be covered by the new law, but CTEPA will be working closely with Smoke-Free Gaming of Colorado, casino workers and community members to try to close this loophole on the local level. The good news is that bar and restaurant workers in Colorado will no longer have to choose between their health and a paycheck!

We need your help to make sure that the implementation of this new law is successful. We have seen that most smoke-free states and cities have relied heavily on community members to help enforce the law. Click here to sign up for CTEPA’s Alliance Alert.  We’ll let you know how you can help make sure that a Smoke-Free Colorado becomes a reality.

To view the final bill, click here.

For news coverage of this legislation, click here.

For detailed information about the law, click here.