By Elana Gordon
Prairie Village, KS – Prairie Village has passed a smoking ban. Council members approved the ordinance in a meeting Monday night. Councilmember David Belz is chair of the Smoke-Free Task Force and says there's been a growing momentum for a smoking ban ever since the task force started up in 2005.
Belz: I think that this point was coming for a long time, and so I'm kind of glad just to get to that point.
The new ordinance takes effect August 1st and bans smoking in all bars and restaurants. It also overrides a law passed in 2005 that would have required all six surrounding cities to approve smoking bans before one could take effect in Prairie Village. Currently, Mission Hills is the only bordering city that does not have a smoking ban. The neighboring city of Mission approved a ban last month.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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