By Elana Gordon
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-715600.mp3
Kansas City, MO – The voter approved ban on smoking inside bars and restaurants was scheduled to take effect on Saturday. But a group of local bar and restaurant owners recently filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that the new ban violates state law and unfairly targets small businesses. The judge overseeing the case issued a temporary restraining order on the ban until a hearing on the lawsuit takes place later this month. Kansas City business owner Bill Nigro is part of the group that filed the lawsuit.
Nigro: This is just a very small hurdle that we jumped over today. Our very big hurdle will be in a few weeks and we're crossing our fingers.
Defendants of the ban argue that state law does not prohibit the city from enacting the new ban and that it's an important step towards reducing the harms of second smoke.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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