Gen. 335] 335 TOBACCO REGULA TI ON S MOKING R ESTRICTIONS I N T ALBOT C OUNT Y

) S MOKING A REAS IN R ESTAUR ANTS September 29, 1995

The Honorable Walter M. Baker Maryland Senate You have requested our opinion on two iss ues re lated to Chapter5 of t

he Laws of

Marylan d 1995, “Sm o king in t he Workplace”: 1. The fir st i ssue concer ns the rel ations hip betweenChapter 5 and Articl e 23 of the Talbot County Code, “Smoking Pro hib ition s.” Specifi call y, your ques tion i s whether St ate l aw or locallaw a pplies to a restau rant tha t posse sses an alcoh olic bev erag es lic ens e in T albo t Co unt y. 2. The seco nd issu e con cerns the pro vision in Chapter 5 that perm its smoking in a “bar or bar ar ea, a se parate enclosed room not exceeding 40% of the r estaur ant, or a combinati on of a bar or a bar areaand separat e enclose d room not exceeding 40% of the totalarea of the res taurant

including the bar or

bararea. ” Yo ur qu estion is whether“the t otal area” include s spaces in the res taurant , like the kitch en, to wh ich th e pu blic o rdin arily doe s no t hav e ac ces s. Our opinion is as follows: 1. Bo th State l aw and cou nty l aw apply to a res tauran t in TalbotCounty with an al coholic beverages lice nse. The combined effect of thes e laws is that s uch a rest aurant may est ablis h a smoking areaonly in a “ bar ,” as defi ned in Arti cle 23 of t he County Code, and a smoking area in a bar may not exceed 40% of the total are a of the r esta ura nt, as spe cifie d in Ch apte r 5. 2. The “tota l area ” of a res taurant is t o b e calcul ated by refer ence to the s quare foo tage d evoted t o food prepar ation and serv ice, in clud ing area s no t ord inar ily o pen to th e ge ner al pu blic.336 [80 O p. Att’y

1 The relevant provisions of Chapter 5 are pre ceded by the phrase “Notwithstanding any regulations adopted by the Commissioner ....”

2 Chapter 5 amended LE §2-106, t he b asic grant of rulemaking authority to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry and the basis for the regulation

prohibiting smoking in the work pl ace; LE §5-314, the emergency

rulemakingauthority of the Commissioner; and §2-105 of the BusinessRegulationArticle, the rulemaking authority of the Secretary of Labor, Lic en sing and Regulation. For brevi ty’s sake , this opinion will refer only to LE §2-106. The provisions are ide ntical in t he other sections

. I State Stat ute and Regulation On July 22, 19 94, the Co mm issioner of Lab or and Ind ustry ad opted a regulation general ly prohibiting smoking in the workplace, exceptin sep arately ven tilated sm oki ng r oom s. COM AR 09.12.23. The Co mm issione r acted to pro te ct employees agai nst the documented hazards of environment al to bacco smoke. The Comm issi onerdecli ned to exempt bar s and restaurants from the regulation, because he found no suff icie nt basi s on which to pr ovide a lesse r degree of

protection to employee s in th ese wo rkp lace s. See gene rally 80 Opinions of the Attorney General

306, 313 (1995). The regulation wa s uph eld by th e Co urt o f Appeals i n Fogl e v . H & G Restaurant , 337 M d. 44 9, 65 4 A .2d 4 41 ( 199 5). Disagreeing with some aspect s of the regulation, t he G e neral Ass em bly en ac te d Ch ap te r 5 of th e Laws of

Maryland 1995, which supersede d the Comm issi oner’s r egulat ion by all owing smoking in certain loca tions. 1 O ne su ch loc ation is “ a restau rant as define d in Article 2B, §1-102 of the Code. ” See §2-106 (c)(1)(i)5 of the Labor and Employment (“LE”) Articl e, Mar yl and Code. 2 Under the defini tionin A rticle 2B , §1-1 02(a )(22)(i)1 , a “resta uran t” is a pu blic establ ishment“equipped wit h a dining room with facil iti es for prepari ng and servin g reg ular m eals ... [i]n w hich th e ave rage d aily receip ts from the sale of food s exc eed th e ave rage d aily rec eipts from the sal e of alc oholic be verages. ” If a rest aurant doe s not poss ess analcohol ic bever ages li cense, smoking is per

mitted in “a separate encl osed room not to e xceed 40% of the total area of the restau rant.” LE § 2-106(c)(1 )(i)5A. If a rest aurant doe s possess an alcohol ic bever ages license , smo king is permitt ed in “a ba r or bar area, a separat e enclose d room notGen. 335] 337

3 The ordinance was sustained at a referendum in November 1994.

4 The full defi nition of

“restaurant” is as follows: “Any coffee shop, cafeteria, sandwich stand, private or public school cafeteria, or any other eating establishment which gives or offers for sale, foo d t o the public, guests, or employees, as well as kitchens in which food is prepared (continued...) exceeding 40% of the rest aurant, or a combinati on of a bar or bar areaan d ase pa rat e e nc l os edro om not exc eeding 40% of the t otal areaof the r estaur ant inc ludi ng the bar or bar area .” LE §2- 106 (c )( 1) (i )5 B. The term “bar o r bar ar ea” m eans “an a rea w ithin a rest aurantthat i s devoted t o the ser ving of al coholic beverages f or consumptionby guests on t he premises and in which the servi ng of food is i ncident al to t

he consumption of t

he alcohol ic bever ages, and the im m edia tely a djac ent s eatin g ar ea.” LE §2- 106 (c)(2 ). In its uncodifi ed Section 2, Chapter 5 expr essly preserves mo re restrictive local smo king regu lation: “[ T]his Ac t is not inte nded to preempt the authorit

y of a county or

municipal c orporat ion to ena ct any law or ordi nance that is more restrictive of sm okin g in establish me nts open to the public in which smoking is per mitted und er S ectio n 1 o f this Ac t.” In sum, the legalframework here i s a sort of decis ion tree. The thresh old questi on is whether Chap ter 5 authori zes smoking in a parti cular

settin g. I f not, then the Comm issi oner’s r egulat ion proh ib its smo ki ng, re ga rd le ss of wha t alo ca l e na ctmen t mi ght al lo w. If so, t he Comm issi oner’s r egulat ion is displ aced, but a local ena ctm ent m ay n eve rthe less p roh ibit sm oki ng.

II The Talbot County Ordinance In August 1993, t

he Talbot County Counci l enac t ed an ordinance restricting smoking in public places. 3 Codified as A rticle 23 of the Talbot County Code. “Smoking Prohibiti ons,” t he or dina nce generally pro hibits smok ing in restaurants. §2 3-4(7). How ever, the definiti on of “rest aurant” excludes “ a cocktai l lounge or tavern i f sai d cocktai l lounge or tavern i s a ‘bar ’ as def ined abo ve.” §23-2. 4 See also §23-6A(1) (bars are not su bject to338 [80 O p. Att’y

4 (...continued) onthe premises for

serving elsewhere, including catering fac ilities, except thatthe term ‘restaurant’ shall not include a cocktail lounge or ta vern i f said cocktail lounge or tavern is a ‘bar’ as de fined above.” smoking restrictions). The term “bar” is defined in §23-2 as follows: “an ar ea within a restaur ant which i s devoted t o the ser ving of alcoh olic beverages for consumpti on by guests on t he premises and in which the ser

ving of f ood is onl y incide ntal to the consumpti on of such beverage s. Alt

hough a rest aurant may contain a b ar, the term ‘bar’ shallnot include the principalrest aurant dining area .” The Talbot County ordinance co ntain s it s own provisi on deferring to mo re re stri ct ive law: “This Arti cle shal l not be inter preted or co nstrue d to p erm itsmoki ng where it is otherwise restr icted by o ther app licab le law s.” § 23- 12. III Sm oking in Talbo t Cou nty R estaura nts The C om miss ioner’ s regu lation p rohib its sm okin g in restau rants where Chapter 5 does not authorize sm okin g. A rticle 23 may not be gi ve n e ff

ec t i f i t p ur

por te d t o a ll ow more sm okin g in resta ura nts in Ta lbo t Co unt y th an a uth oriz ed b y C hap ter 5

. We discern only one problem of thi s kind. Under Articl e 23, §23-2, sm okin g is allow ed in the bar, regard less of th e pro portion ate amount of space t

hat a bar

occ upies. But Chapter 5 aut horizes smoking in a bar (or

bararea) only up to a maximum of 40% of the restaurant’s total are a. Th e Co mm issione r’s regu lation p rohib its smoking in any gre ater

area. Hence, a restau rant in T albot C oun ty that has a bar exc eeding the 40% limit may not allo w sm okin g in the entir e ba r, no twi thsta ndi ng A rticle 23, § 23- 2. Conversely, Article 23 m ay be given full effec t wh en it proh ibits smoking in res tau rants , al though Chapter 5 authori zes smoking there. There are two such instances. First, Article 23 does not al low smoking in a re staur ant except in a b ar. Art icle 23 has no provi sion for a smoking area in a rest aurantwit hou t a bar; Chapter 5, by contrast , allows any rest aurantt o h av e a“s ep ar at e e nc l os edro om” for s m oki ng. ArticleGen. 335] 339 23 is, in this respect , “more res tri ctive of sm okin g in es tablishm ents open to the publ ic in whic h smoking is per mitted under

... this Act”; hence, Section 2 of Chapter 5 gives effect to Articl e 23. Because Article 23 does not all ow for smo king in a restau rant withou t a bar, such a r estaur ant in Talbot County may not avai l it self of the “se par ate e nclo sed roo m ” op tion und er C hap ter 5

. Second, the defini ti on of “bar” in Articl e 23, §23-2 does not include the “i mm ediat ely adj acent se atingarea” of the rest aurant, as do es the defini tion of

“bar or bar

area” i n Chapter 5. Therefore , Article 23 i s the mo re re stri ct iv e. Re sta urants with a bar in Talbot County may not permit s moking in the adjacent seating areaof the restaurant prop er.

IV

Meaning of “Total Area” Although Chapter 5 aut horizes smoking in c ert ain areas of a restau rant, the law caps the si ze of the smoking areas at “40% of the totalarea of the restau ra nt.” Cha pter 5 does not define the term “are a.” Abse nt som e evidenc e of a contrar y legis lative purpose, the law is presumed to use the te rm in its o rdin ary sen se. See, e.g., In re R oge r S., 338 M d. 38 5, 39 1, 65 8 A .2d 6 96 ( 199 5). One common m eaning of “area ” is “the spac e or si te on which a building stands. ” Rand om Hous e Dictionary of the English Language 110 (2d ed. 1987) . Appl yin g that definition, the phrase “40% of the total ar ea of the restaurant” invokes a measurement of the totalfloor

space for

the buil ding or part

of a buil ding that

is used forth e “rest aurant. ” The term “res taurant” is def ined in terms of “faci lities for pre paring and s erving r egular me als

.. .. ” Arti cl e 2B, §1-102 (a)(22)(i)1 (incor po rated by r eferenc e in LE §2- 106(c)(1)(i)5A ). Therefo re, the “total area of th e restau rant” include s all “facilities” that are related to the re staura nt’s f ood preparation and servi ce )not only t he dining room s but also t he kitch en a nd s tora ge r oom s. Had the GeneralAssembly wanted to l imit t he maximum size of the smoking ar ea to 40% of the ar ea of the rest aurant f requente d by patron s, it did no t lack fo r exam ples o f precis ely su ch a lim it. New York City’s Smoke-Fre e Air Act, whic h bans sm okin g in many re s taurants, allows smoking in a “smoking lounge” or “rest aurant340 [80 O p. Att’y bar ,” prov ided th at “the s moking lounge and res taurant bar do not individ ually or in the agg regate exce ed 25% of the aggre gate square footage of the ar eas of suc h rest aurant of feri ng public dining, be verag e serv ice a nd l oun ges ....” §1 7-5 03a 5(B ). See also §25- 808(a)( 1) of the Califor

nia Busines s and Profes sions Code (s moking proh ibited in restau rants except i n “designat ed areas not exceeding 25% of the s eati ng capacit y”). The GeneralAssembly’s choi ce of the most generalterm ref lect s a decis ion no t t o l i mi t t o p ub l i c r oo ms the “are a” fr om wh ich th e 40 % lim it is to b e ca lcula ted. Cf. Solander v. Municipal Court , 119 Cal. Rptr. 609, 611-12 (Cal. App. 1975) (contrasting gen eral use of the term “area” in on e part of a statu te w ith a m ore lim ited u se in ano ther par t).

V Conclusion In sum ma ry, it is our o pinion that: 1. A rest aurant in Talb ot Co unty that ha s an a lcoho lic beverages license and a bar m ay al lo w smoking in the bar, as long as the are a of the bar does not exceed 40% of the a re a of the restau rant. A restaur ant in Talbot County may not permit smoking in th e are a of

the r esta ura nt ad

jace nt to the b ar. 2. The 40% limit on the siz e o f the s moking area in a rest aurantis t o b e cal culat ed by refer ence to t he tota l fl oor space used for foo d pre paratio n and servic e, includ ing are as no t gene rally acc essib le to t he p ubl ic. J. Joseph C urran, Jr. AttorneyGeneral Jack Sch wa rtz Chief Counsel Opinions & Advice