Melissa Fose

Smokers and nonsmokers across the state will be affected by Gov. Rounds’ decision on the smoking ban. Rounds has not yet taken action on the bill, HB1240, according to his press secretary Joe Kafka.

If Rounds signs the bill, smoking will be banned from all public places in South Dakota on July 1. Exceptions for the ban include motel rooms and cigar and tobacco shops.

“I don’t honestly know when he will [take action] ? it could be today or it could be the 27th of March,” said Kafka.

Rounds has not indicated whether he will sign the bill or not. He told the Associated Press that he has to make sure the bill is written correctly and that all issues have been taken into account before he will sign.

Some students hope that Rounds signs the smoking ban.

“I’m all for it,” said SDSU sophomore health promotions major Caitlyn Ingle, “just because it’s annoying when I go out.”

Ingle said that she has allergies that act up around smokers, including a headache and stuffy nose. She thinks that Rounds will sign the bill because “Minnesota already has it. [People have] seen how it works.”

Jillian Morgan, a freshman general studies major who smokes, said that the ban would not bother her. “If I really want one, I can go outside to have one,” she said.

The ban would provide safety, Morgan said. If the ban went into effect, it would be safer because non-smokers would not have to inhale all the chemicals, she said.

Douglas Peters, a mechanical engineering instructor at SDSU, has a differing opinion regarding the smoking ban.

He said that his concerns lie with government intervention. “Whenever we give up our freedoms, one thing leads to another. ? Where does it end?”

Peters does not favor smoking but said, “People have a decision whether to go into that establishment or not.”

The Legislature presented Rounds with the smoking ban bill on March 11.

If Rounds vetoes the bill, he will send a veto message back to the Legislature. To override the governor’s veto, both the House and Senate must reach a two-thirds majority.

Rounds told the Associated Press that he hopes to decide soon.

The Legislature will review Rounds’ potential vetoes on March 30.

#1.881800:311634738.jpg:smoking1.1.jpg:Adam Wehrkamp, a sophomore English student, smokes a cigarette on campus, an act the HEROH office is trying to ban on campus.:Travis Entenman