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Update on Smoke Free Exception for Ceremonies
by Storm Reyes

Last Tuesday, we testified before a State Senate Committee regarding inclusion of an exemption in the smoke-free law to allow smoke for religious purposes. (We are Storm Reyes - Puyallup, Deb Moran - Kiowa, Ted Moran - Port Gamble S'kallam/Makah (and something else I forget).   We were given 1 min. 30 seconds each to talk.  I won't go into details other than to say that I was humbled and pleased by the support from the general Faith Community.  The Jewish Federation, Associated Ministries and Catholic Council signed up to speak in support of our bill.  Although they were not allowed to speak, it is on the record nonetheless.  The opponents main argument is that the exemption will open up to big a loophole in the law, so even though spiritual practices involving smoke will remain illegal, they would be willing to use 'discretion' in enforcing the law with us.  This did not go over well with the Senators.

I believe we received a fair hearing from the Senators.  The next steps would be that it has to be voted out of their committee, referred to the Rules Committee, voted out of that committee and sent to the floor for vote.  The exact same action has to happen in the House.  And then, there must be a 2/3rds yes vote by the House and the Senate.

Frankly, this is not going to happen.  The cut-off date for bills to leave committees is soon, and our bill has not even been scheduled for hearing by the House Committee.   If by chance it does get scheduled, we're going to need lots of emails to House legislators urging support. 

And here's my funny story.  We smudged outside the building before going in for the hearing.  Capital security smelled the smudge and thought we were smoking dope and called the police on us.  Two State Patrol officers came into the hearing room looking for us.  Nothing came of it, but I almost ended up with a ticket...would have proved the point at least. 

We were interviewed by reporters from the Seattle Times and the Olympian.  The articles are below.  I was also asked for an on-camera interview by KIRO news and declined.

Storm

Amendment sought to state smoking ban

By Karen Johnson
Seattle Times Olympia bureau, January 25, 2006

OLYMPIA - Storm Reyes regularly burns sage, willow bark and tobacco during
prayer ceremonies - a practice she worries is now illegal under the state's
new smoking ban.

On Tuesday Reyes, who has Puyallup tribal ancestry, burned sage just before
testifying at a Senate hearing in favor of a bill that would exempt
religious ceremonies from the anti-smoking law approved by voters in
November.

"The point is not to smoke it, it is to send it," said Reyes, who explained
how she uses smoke during the ceremonies.

Lawmakers in the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee
considered a bill to amend the law, which bans smoking in public buildings
and workplaces, as well as within 25 feet of doorways.

Supporters of the bill, SB-6213, say it restricts Native American religious
practices, such as pipe ceremonies that use tobacco.

Many of the ceremonies by urban tribes like the Puyallups are held in public
buildings off tribal land, said Sen. Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, who sponsored
the bill.

Critics of Regala's bill say the exemption could be abused by smokers and
business owners.

"There are a lot of folks out there looking for loopholes in the existing
law," said Nick Federici, a spokesman for the American Lung Association,
which helped sponsor the anti-smoking initiative.

"I think they would be delighted to try to take advantage of a religious
loophole."

Opponents to Regala's bill also say the new no-smoking law targets tobacco,
not materials used in religious ceremonies.

But Jennifer Shaw, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties
Union, isn't so sure.

She said the anti-smoking law doesn't specify tobacco, so burning incense or
sage could be considered illegal. The ACLU supports the religious exemption.

Because the smoking ban was passed by an initiative, the bill must be
approved by a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to become law.

If the exemption fails, Reyes said, she will sue the state.

Karen Johnson: 360-943-9882 or karenjohnson@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company


The Olympian, January 25, 2006
UPDATE
Senate Bill 6213, sponsored by Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, would make a religious exemption to Initiative 901, allowing smoking in public for religious purposes.

The bill is being spearheaded by religious organizations such as the Jewish Federation, the Catholic Conference and Associated Ministries.

Members of Washington state American Indian tribes testified at a public hearing Tuesday as the main proponents for the exemption.

Storm Reyez of the Puyallup tribe said funerals, weddings, powwows and other cultural or religious events usually require tobacco to be burned or smoked in a public space during the ceremony.

"Tobacco is considered sacred and used for prayers," Reyez said.

The bill met opposition from the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.

"There would be unlimited cigarette and cigar smoking because people would say it was part of their religion," said Chris Covert-Bowlds of the American Lung Association. "It's well-meaning, but it has a loophole the size of a truck in it."

"The point is, my prayer shouldn't be criminal," Reyez said. "No one wants to live their spiritual life like that."

New Smoke-Free initiative Makes No Exception for Ceremonies
by Storm Reyes

Initiative 901, the Smoke-Free initiative, was passed by the voters of Washington in November and became effective December 8, 2005. The initiative was very poorly written and as a consequence, it will now be illegal to smudge or use the sacred pipe in a location defined as 'public' by the initiative. It will affect weddings, funerals and in-door powwows held off reservation land. First offense is a warning and then $100 fine for both the person smudging/doing a pipe ceremony and for the owner of the facility.

In the course of my job, I read the initiative and noticed it did not have an exemption for religious purposes, such as does the Clean Air Act. As I'm not an attorney, I checked with my state legislators, the health department and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). To my dismay, my reading of it was correct and in fact, my legislator requested a formal Attorney General's Opinion. The opinion has been released and the initiative is in violation of federal freedom of religion statutes. My legislator, Rep. Jeannie Darneille, will present a bill at the January session of the legislature that would include an exemption for religious purposes. A state senator will offer a companion bill in the Senate.

Unfortunately, because the law comes from an initiative, it will require a 2/3rds yes vote by both the House and the Senate. It will be two years before the legislature can act on an initiative without the 2/3rds rule. My legislator is not optimistic that it will pass.

With those avenues closed, the ACLU is willing to take the case as a class action suit and go to court to get 'injunctive relief'. The attorney has stated that the case would be stronger if there were a large number of plaintiffs. There are 10 of us who have agreed to sign on as plaintiffs. As the initiative clearly violates both religious and cultural freedom, they are confident that the court will provide such relief. Rep. Darneille has invited the ACLU to work with her office to correct this situation. A meeting will be held, here in Tacoma, with the ACLU attorney, someone from Rep. Darneille's office and the 'plaintiffs' to work out a strategy for both the legislative action and the court action. The meeting will not be scheduled until we have identified all who wish to be plaintiffs, but we hope to do it in the next couple of weeks.

Below is a link to Initiative 901 and the text from a bulletin released by the Department of Social and Health Services.

If you are interested in being a plaintiff in this case, please contact me at chutwood@hotmail.com There is strength in unity.

Storm Reyes

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i901.pdf

The initiative does not allow smoking in a "public place" or in any "place of employment." A "public place" includes any portion of any building that is used by the public or that is open to the public. It doesn't matter whether the building is privately or publicly owned. Besides the building itself, the law prohibits smoking within a "reasonable minimum distance" from the public portion of the building. Unless an individual receives an exception from the local public health agency, the "reasonable minimum distance" is twenty-five feet from 1) entrances, 2) exits, 3) windows that open, and 4) ventilation intakes that serve the area where smoking is prohibited. Although the law creates an exception for private residences, the exception does not apply to private residences that are used to provide licensed child care, foster care, adult care, or other similar social service care on the premises (such as licensed care facilities). The law also does not allow smoking in places of employment. This includes any areas through which employees are required to pass during the course of employment such as entrances, exits, work areas and restrooms. The prohibition also includes a "reasonable minimum distance" requirement from these areas (as described above.) While the law creates an exception for private residences or home-based businesses, the exception does not apply to private residences that are used to provide licensed child care, foster care, adult care, or other similar social service care on the premises (such as licensed care facilities). Individuals in charge of public buildings and places of employment are required to not allow smoking and to post conspicuous no smoking signs at the building entrance. Local health departments are required to enforce these requirements. The method of enforcement may include notices requiring correction, civil fines and injunctions. Local law enforcement is responsible for enforcing the prohibition against anyone who intentionally violates the law by smoking in a public place or place of employment. Violators can be given a notice of infraction (similar to a parking ticket) and fined up to one hundred dollars per day for each violation.

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