Bid to stub out Arnie's courtyard smoking

A bill approved by an Assembly committee would bar Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, from lighting up cigars in the California Capitol courtyard.

The panel approved a measure yesterday to ban smoking in enclosed courtyards of state buildings, including the one where Schwarzenegger put up a “smoking tent”.

Democratic Assemblyman Juan Vargas said the bill was not aimed at the Republican governor, although it would cover him. He said smoke can get trapped in courtyards, posing health risks for non-smokers.

But Assemblyman George Plescia, a Republican, said non-smokers were not forced to go to courtyards where people might be smoking. “It’s just as easy to walk to the other side of the building,” he said.

Schwarzenegger’s office said he had not taken a position on the bill.

California already bans smoking inside public buildings and within 20 feet of an entrance to those facilities.