Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/102968
Sarasota News Leader January 11, 2013 Page 25 and in conflict with the state statute known as to the State the regulation of all smoking [indoors and outdoors] …" the 'Clean Indoor Air Act.'" The purpose of that law, which was passed in 1985 but did not go into effect until 2003, according to the Florida Department of Health, "is to protect people from the health hazards of secondhand tobacco smoke …." In her Dec. 10 ruling, Judge Maryann Boehm of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Sarasota pointed to the city's claim that "it is unclear whether the Legislature intended to preempt She added, "There is no case law directly on point that construes the preemption provision at issue in this case. The Defendant cites several favorable legal opinions rendered by the Florida Attorney General on the subject. Although such opinions have no binding precedential value, the Court finds their reasoning to be sound and is persuaded that [the statute] constitutes an express and unambiguous statement of the Legislature's intent to pre- Internationally renowned participants in the annual Siesta Key Crystal Classic Master Sand Sculpting Competition have told event founder Brian Wigelsworth they relish working in Siesta's cigarette-free sand. In 2012, Canadian sculptors Abe Waterman and Peter Vogelaar drew crowds as they crafted second-place winner Fine Print. Photo by Norman Schimmel