Councilmember suggests a smoking ban revenue stream
Now and then a local news story will feature an idea or quote from a local pol that seems so familiar. Here's an example from a KTRH-740 story on the latest smoking ban debate:
Meanwhile, Council Member Jarvis Johnson advocated making bar owners pay a yearly permit fee to the city, and accept more stringent health requirements, in exchange for Houston allowing those businesses to take down the "no-smoking" sign.
"I want Houston to go smoke-free," said Johnson, "but if an establishment wants to be a smoking establishment, that is their right."
What a fine, Mayor White-style idea! A new revenue stream! But why does it ring a bell?
Dermatologist-Councilwoman Gibbs has led the charge on this matter, calling for an outright ban.
We think Mayor White could reclaim this issue, and give it his signature touch. That's right -- why not turn it into a possibility for a new revenue stream?
Ban smoking outright for now. Allow restaurants that meet certain specifications to allow smoking in designated parts of their restaurants. Create a new "Smoking Establishment Permit" and accompanying bureaucracy for the thing! There you go -- a new revenue stream AND cleaner air!
Mayor White's thinking small on this one. In a city that has a sign inspector and that requires delivery trucks to pay for loading zone permits, surely our creative mayor can figure out a way to squeeze restaurants that would like to allow patrons to smoke.
Because Kevin Whited suggested it one and a half years ago.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/08/06 07:55 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (3)
Previous Entry | Home | Next Entry
Trackback
Unfortunately, abusive spammers have forced us to disable incoming trackback pings. The Technorati link should list related posts. Feel free to drop us an email if you've linked a post and would like to let us know about it.
ADVERTISING
DISCLAIMER
All content © 2004-08, blogHOUSTON and the respective authors.
blogHOUSTON.net is powered by Nucleus.
Site design and Nucleus customization are by Kevin Whited.