Governor Parkinson says compromise smoking ban bill is a fraud

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson says a new bill being touted as a compromise on smoking in public places is a fraud.

Parkinson said Friday that he would veto the measure introduced this week by the House Health and Human Services Committee.

The governor favors a Senate-passed measure to ban smoking statewide in most public places, including restaurants and bars.

The House bill would allow people to light up in such places with a physically separate smoking area.

The bill also would nullify local ordinances. At least three counties and 36 cities have enacted their own rules.

But House committee chairwoman Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, said the measure Parkinson supports is a fraud because it bans smoking in private businesses while allowing it in state-owned casinos.