Bullitt County health board votes to make county smoke-free; Fiscal Court wants a judge to decide if a board has that power

Bullitt County's board of health voted to enact a countywide smoking ban Tuesday evening, but the county's Fiscal Court wants a judge to decide if the board has that authority.

"This is not about the smoking ban," Judge-Executive Melanie Roberts told WAVE-TV's Connie Leonard. "This is about which agency can enact legislation." Health Department Director Swannie Jett said fighting the ban is "ludicrous if you just think about the health impacts."

The Bullitt County Board of Health is not the first in Kentucky to enact such a ban. Health boards in Woodford, Hopkins, Madison and Clark counties did likewise. The move in Hopkins County did result in a legal battle, but the judge sided with the health department. (Read more)

Meanwhile, in a story healdined, "Smoking-ban advocates find Southern Kentucky a hard sell," the Lexington Herald-Leader's Bill Estep explains how a multi-county agency such as the Lake Cumberland District Health Department can enact a smoking ordinance. "A county health department that stands alone can approve a smoke-free law by regulation," he reports. "Counties under a district health department board can't, however; the multi-county board would have to approve such a regulation for the entire district." (Read more)