By Brock Vergakis
Daily Herald
Wednesday, January 31, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY -- Smoking in a vehicle could result in up to a $45 fine if there's a child 5 or younger present under a bill the Senate tentatively approved Tuesday.

"Here is the smallest, most confined space that someone smokes in," said bill sponsor, Sen. Scott McCoy, D-Salt Lake City. "This bill basically says we don't think we should expose young children."

Senate Bill 43 would make the infraction a secondary offense, meaning police would have to pull a driver over for another offense, such as speeding, before a ticket could be written.

The Senate approved the bill 16-9, but it must go through one more formal reading before it heads to the House for debate, where it's expected to meet resistance from lawmakers who believe it violates private property rights.

Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, said she despises smoking. But she said McCoy's bill goes too far in violating private property rights, which she calls one of the pillars of America's capitalist system. If the state wants to ban smoking in cars in the presence of children, it might as well ban bad music and language there as well, she said.

"If we're serious about (smoking), let's make it against the law," she said. "Some of these big cars are the same size as bathrooms in a home. We better outlaw it in the bathroom."

But McCoy countered there are lots of things legal in a home that aren't on the state's roads.

"You're allowed to be naked in your house -- not in your car," he said.

McCoy said he chose the age of 5 because state law requires children that age and younger to be in car seats, making it easier for law enforcement officers to know when there's a violation.

Arkansas passed a similar law last year, banning smoking in automobiles when a child who weighs no more than 60 pounds or is 6 years old or younger is present.