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St. Paul (AP) ― A statewide smoking ban moved closer to reality Thursday when the Minnesota House voted to outlaw smoking in bars and restaurants starting in 2009.
However, there's one big exception in the "Freedom to Breathe" bill, which passed 85-45: It would let local officials authorize ventilated smoking rooms in bars, where customers could light up without ordering food or drink because employees couldn't enter during business hours.

The stricter Senate version approved last month would outlaw smoking in bars, restaurants, clubs and other workplaces -- with the exception of outdoor patios that would be off-limits to an establishment's workers. The Senate ban would take effect Aug. 1.

Both bills would significantly expand the movement for smoke-free public places in Minnesota, where 18 cities and counties have passed smoking bans. If the smoking ban becomes law Minnesota would become the 19th state to prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants.

"We're not telling smokers they can't smoke," said Rep. Dan Severson, R-Sauk Rapids. "We're telling smokers that they cannot give their secondhand smoke to other people in public places. It's about the rights of nonsmokers."

The vote didn't break along party lines, with 11 Republicans supporting the bill and an equal number of Democrats against it.

Opposition came from legislators representing mostly rural areas and small towns. They worried about what would happen to their local taverns and other gathering places.

"The fact that this doesn't hurt businesses is a load of hooey," said Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan.

He added: "There will be an economic impact. It will affect workers' lives. It will affect the blood, sweat and tears that have been put into establishing businesses."

The two sides clashed over the economic effects of a smoking ban, with backers citing large-scale studies showing no harm to hospitality businesses and critics telling stories of bars forced to close when smokers went elsewhere or stayed home.

Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, said almost half the taverns in his district have gone out of business or are about to since the city banned smoking in bars about a year ago.

"Most of us don't go to bars that have smoking in them," he said. "The people in my neighborhood do, and now that they can't smoke there they go to their buddy's house. They sit in the garage and have a smoke."

An amendment to let smoking continue in ventilated bars failed narrowly on a 62-68 vote.

Smoking ban supporters said the statewide ban would even out a hodgepodge of local rules.

"Minnesotans have asked for this because they're tired of breathing smoke in public places," said Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud. "The only way that this ban works is across the board with few exceptions. Across the board, make it even."

House members approved minor additions to the bill, including a prohibition on smoking medical marijuana in nursing homes, a study of the ban's effect on charitable gambling and a provision allowing smoking in private clubs without employees.

Bigger challenges failed -- including moves to allow smoking in border cities and establishments within five miles of tribal casinos, taconite plants and workplaces where unions and management agree to allow smoking. A symbolic push to criminalize smoking anywhere in the state drew just three yes votes, and an effort to extend the ban to Indian lands fell 56-74.

The debate now shifts to a House-Senate conference committee, where negotiators will resolve the differences between the two bills. Health groups are pushing for the strictest possible ban. Gov. Tim Pawlenty would sign a statewide smoking ban although he would like an exception for VFWs and American Legions, spokesman Brian McClung said.

The bill would punish violations by smokers and permissive proprietors with fines of up to $300. It wouldn't affect smoking in private homes or cars, hotel rooms or cigar shops.

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Secondhand smoke is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In 2005, it was estimated that, each year, exposure to secondhand smoke in the United States kills more than 3,000 adult nonsmokers from lung cancer and approximately 46,000 from coronary heart disease.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)