AUSTIN — A limited statewide smoking ban, which appeared near death just days ago, has surged back to life in the final days of the 82nd Legislature, with supporters scrambling to push it across the finish line before lawmakers adjourn in just over a week.

The House, in a bipartisan 73-66 vote late Friday, included the ban in a must-pass $2.5 billion revenue measure tied to a proposed budget compromise. The final version of the revenue measure will ultimately be crafted by House-Senate conferees, who will decide whether the smoking ban stays or goes.

“Oh, I think we’ve got a good shot,” said Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, Senate sponsor of the ban.

The nontax revenue bill, which received final House passage Saturday, is among a smorgasbord of crucial measures demanding attention before lawmakers go home May 30.

Both chambers held sessions Saturday to help trim the stack of remaining bills as parents and teachers staged a noisy demonstration just outside the House chamber to protest nearly $4 billion in proposed education cuts over the next two years.

Redistricting

Lawmakers made a significant dent in one of their top priorities, redistricting, as the House and Senate approved plans to redraw boundaries for the state’s 150 House districts and 31 Senate districts.

But legislators are still struggling with congressional redistricting, raising the possibility that the job will be finished either in a special session or by the courts.

Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting, said his panel is trying to produce a congressional map to present to the House and Senate but acknowledged that time is running out. A congressional plan would include four new seats destined for Texas because of population growth, as well as redrawn boundaries for the state’s 32 existing congressional districts.

“We’re just being painstakingly careful,” said Seliger, explaining that the task is fraught with legal complexities. Asked whether he will have a plan before the session ends, Seliger said: “I don’t know. We’re still trying.”

Many lawmakers say they don’t believe that Gov. Rick Perry will call a special session just to deal with congressional redistricting. If not, the task would fall to a state or federal court.

Smoking ban limited

House passage of the smoking ban amendment was a victory for Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, who has made a ban one of her priorities for the past three legislative sessions. Crownover said the measure is urgently needed to curtail secondhand smoke, which she said costs “thousands of lives and millions of dollars.”

Crownover said she sought to add the measure to the revenue bill because it would help the state save $30 million in Medicaid costs.

If approved by the Legislature and signed by Perry, the bill would ban smoking in places licensed by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and by state and local health departments, including bars, restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores.

This measure is more limited than the original bill, which would also have banned smoking in workplaces. Places of employment not regulated by the commission or health departments — insurance agencies and attorneys’ offices, for example — would not be covered under Crownover’s amendment. The bill also exempts pool halls and cigar bars.

The so-called fiscal matters bill, which passed the House on Saturday by a 100-44 vote, is deemed essential to help finance a budget compromise negotiated by legislative leaders Friday. One big question now surrounding the bill is whether House and Senate conferees will keep the smoking ban in the bill.

Smoking in Texas is now regulated by a patchwork of local ordinances. More than 30 Texas cities have comprehensive smoke-free ordinances covering public facilities and workplaces, while a number of others, including Fort Worth and Arlington, have ordinances with varying restrictions.

Opponents argued that the measure would intrude on private property rights.

“Government has no use banning a legal product on private property,” said Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, while conceding that cigarette smoke is “offensive” and “harmful.”

Under sympathetic questioning from a colleague, Crownover told fellow lawmakers that her husband, former Rep. Ronny Crownover, died of leukemia. Although her husband didn’t smoke, benzene, a substantial byproduct of smoking, is a major contributor to leukemia, she said.

Crownover was elected to succeed her husband in 2000.

“I understand why this is so important to you,” said the colleague, Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, “and I appreciate your tireless efforts.”

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