Res No 223-12-13780RESOLUTION NO. 223-12-13780
A Resolution supporting restoration of local control of smoke -free air laws in
the State of Florida, requesting support of members of the Miami -Dade
County League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities urging the Florida
legislature to allow communities to make local smoke -free and other tobacco
related laws that are more restricted than state laws.
WHEREAS, numerous studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to
indoor air pollution, and that breathing secondhand smoke is a cause of disease in healthy
nonsmokers, including heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and lung cancer; and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization has determined that there is no safe level of
exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, and in 2007, declared that there is indisputable evidence
that implementing 100% smoke -free environments is the only effective way to protect the
population from the harmful effects of exposure to secondhand smoke, a known carcinogen
responsible for the early deaths of 53,000 Americans annually; and
WHEREAS, in 2010 the U.S. Surgeon General reported for the first time the damage
smoking can do at the cellular and organ level and the evidence on the mechanisms by which
smoking causes disease indicates that there is no risk -free level of exposure to direct or
secondhand tobacco smoke, a toxic air contaminant and outdoor air pollutant; and
WHEREAS, children with exposure to secondhand smoke reflect an increased risk of
asthma, respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, physical and cognitive
developmental abnormalities, cancer; and eventually the risk of coronary heart disease and heart
attacks; and
WHEREAS, local governments have both the right and the responsibility to adopt laws
that protect the health and safety of the children, adults and the elderly, suffering from
cardiovascular disease, future heart attacks, impaired respiratory function, asthmatics and those
with; and
WHEREAS, more than 3,100 local governments throughout the country have
successfully implemented smoke -free air laws to protect people against the harmful effects of
secondhand smoke; and
WHEREAS, the residents in local communities should have the right to protect
themselves against the harmful effects of secondhand smoke; and
WHEREAS, the tobacco industry has long had as its chief legislative strategy, the
preemption of local government to regulate tobacco in an effort to negate such local legislation;
and
WHEREAS, Florida has had a preemptive state law since 1985, which prohibits local
government from enacting laws that restrict smoking in any indoor or outdoor settings, such as
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Res. No. 223 -12 -13780
workplaces and public places, or restrict the marketing, advertising, and point of sale of tobacco
products; and
WHEREAS, protecting people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke is best
accomplished by local communities working directly with the people most affected by smoke -
free air laws; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature should not deprive local government entities of the
Home Rule authority to protect the public from the harmful and life threatening effects of
secondhand smoke; and
WHEREAS, the City of South Miami is a member of the Florida and Miami -Dade
League of Cities.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE
CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section I The City of South Miami, Florida requests support of the municipalities who
hold memberships in the Miami -Dade County League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities
to r-epeal the State's preemption of leeal smoke free air- and other- tobaeeo related . allow
communities to make local smoke -free and other tobacco related laws that are more restricted
than state laws.
Section 2, The City of South Miami, Florida strongly encourages other local
governmental entities throughout the state to adopt similar resolutions and, seek the restoration
of the right of local governments to enact and enforce smoke -free air and other tobacco - related
laws under F.S. 386.209.
Section 3. Severability. If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is
for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this holding
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
Section 4. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7th day of November, 2012.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
P4k
CITY CLE MAYOR
READ AND PROVED AS TO FORM, COMMISSION VOTE: 4 -0
LANG-_, ; L' GALIT D Mayor Stoddard: Yea
E P N THERE Vice Mayor Liebman: Yea
Commissioner Newman: absent
Commissioner Harris: Yea
CITY T Commissioner Welsh: Yea
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