By Jennifer Curington, Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE Local governments would get the authority to ban smoking at beaches, parks, sports facilities and other outdoor areas under a bill moving through the Florida Legislature but enforcement would begin with a warning.

SB 258, by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Orange Park, unanimously passed the Regulated Industries committee today. It would extend to local governments the smoking-ban powers now held exclusively by the state, which has used them to bar smoking in restaurants and public buildings for the past decade. Bradleys bill has two more committees to face.

But the bill was amended by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, to allow police officers to first warn a smoker that he or she had lit up in a banned area. If the smoker didnt extinguish his butt, the officer could first ask her to leave and, if the smoker refuses, issue a civil violation that could cost up to $100. Subsequent offenses could result in a fine of up to $500.

Nobody wants to put anybody in jail for doing any of these things, but it does send a signal that, look, the state wants to be smoke-free eventually, Thrasher said. I hope we are because I think its a detriment to our health and welfare.

Outdoor smoking bans have become increasingly popular nationally; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has even prohibited smoking in the citys iconic Central Park. Many Florida colleges including the University of Central Florida and Valencia State College have banned smoking on campus. And cleanup volunteers say the biggest source of trash on Palm Beach County beaches is cigarette butts, according to a Palm Beach Post report, prompting a push there for a smoking ban.

Rep. Bill Hager, R-Delray Beach, has filed a similar bill that has been referred to three committees has yet to be heard in any of them.

The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association which fought against smoking bans in restaurants for years has expressed concerns about the bill. Among them: that customers at outdoor tables could lose their right to smoke.

Read more here:

Parks, beaches may be next target for smoking bans