The Kearney state senator pushing for a statewide smoking ban may be breathing a little easier.

Sen. Joel Johnson got a 33-13 vote Thursday on an amendment that took the smoking ban bill (LB395) back to its original form, without an allowance for communities to opt out or create a less strict ban.

An amendment by Sen. Phil Erdman of Bayard, also adopted, would make the effective date of the ban June 1.

The debate continued to be health vs. private property rights — allowing businesses to decide on their own what’s best for them. Some opponents of the bill want to leave smoking issues up to communities, especially smaller ones.

Sen. Tom Carlson of Holdrege suggested a county-by-county vote on the issue might be more fair.

“I think all 93 would ban smoking,” he said. “But if two or three did not, so what? The people would have spoken.”

With a statewide referendum, guess who decides?, he said. Lincoln and Omaha.

Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island added: “We’re the only ones who can do it fairly.”

Senators turned down an attempt to exempt Horseman’s Park in south Omaha from the ban. Omaha Sen. John Synowiecki argued the exemption was needed so it could continue to compete with other parimutuel gaming establishments in nearby Iowa.

Johnson said accepting the amendment would open the door for a long line of other exemptions.

The Legislature will not meet again until Tuesday. Senators are expected to take up the smoking ban again late next week at the earliest, Speaker Mike Flood said.

Reach JoAnne Young at 473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com.