Lawmakers Delay Statewide Smoking Ban Vote

• {Frankfort, Kentucky}...Debate over a proposal to conduct random drug testing on welfare recipients delayed a vote Thursday on legislation that would impose a statewide ban on smoking in public places. Republican lawmakers boycotted a meeting of the House Health and Welfare Committee because Chairman Tom Burch had refused to call the drug testing bill for a vote. That boycott left the committee without a quorum. The drug testing bill, sponsored by state Representative Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, has proven popular among lawmakers, more than 60 of whom have signed on as co-sponsors. Napier says job applicants typically require employees to pass drug screenings, and he believes welfare recipients should face that same scrutiny.