Section 3791.031. No smoking area in place of public assembly required

(A) As used in this section, "place of public assembly" means:

(1) Enclosed theatres, except the lobby; opera houses; auditoriums; classrooms; elevators; rooms in which persons are confined as a matter of health care, including but not limited to a hospital room and a room in a residential care facility serving as the residence of a person living in such residential care facility;

(2) All buildings and other enclosed structures owned by the state, its agencies, or political subdivisions, including but not limited to hospitals and state institutions for the mentally retarded and the mentally ill; university and college buildings, except rooms within those buildings used primarily as the residences of students or other persons affiliated with the university or college; office buildings; libraries; museums; and vehicles used in public transportation. That portion of a building or other enclosed structure that is owned by the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision and that is used primarily as a food service establishment is not a place of public assembly.

(3) Each portion of a building or enclosed structure that is not included in division (A)(1) or (2) of this section is a place of public assembly if it has a seating capacity of fifty or more persons and is available to the public. Restaurants, food service establishments, dining rooms, cafes, cafeterias, or other rooms used primarily for the service of food, as well as bowling alleys and places licensed by the division of liquor control to sell intoxicating beverages for consumption on the premises, are not places of public assembly.

(B) For the purpose of separating persons who smoke from persons who do not smoke for the comfort and health of persons not smoking, in every place of public assembly there shall be an area where smoking is not permitted, which shall be designated a no smoking area; provided that, no more than one-half of the rooms in any health care facility in which persons are confined as a matter of health care may be designated as smoking areas in their entirety. The designation shall be made before the place of public assembly is made available to the public. In places included in division (A)(1) of this section, the local fire authority having jurisdiction shall designate the no smoking area. In places included in division (A)(2) of this section that are owned by the state or its agencies, except the capitol square, the director of administrative services shall designate the area, and if the place is owned by a political subdivision, its legislative authority shall designate an officer who shall designate the area. The house rules committee shall designate the no smoking areas in all capitol square spaces used by the house of representatives; the senate rules committee shall designate the no smoking areas in all capitol square spaces used by the senate and the legislative service commission; the capitol square review and advisory board shall designate the no smoking areas in all other spaces in the capitol square. In places included in division (A)(3) of this section, the person having control of the operations of the place of public assembly shall designate the no smoking area. In places included in division (A)(2) of this section which are also included in division (A)(1) of this section, the officer who has authority to designate the area in places in division (A)(2) of this section shall designate the no smoking area. A no smoking area may include the entire place of public assembly. Designations shall be made by the placement of signs that are clearly visible and that state "no smoking." No person shall remove signs from areas designated as no smoking areas.

(C) This section does not affect or modify the prohibition contained in division (B) of section 3313.751 of the Revised Code.

(D) No person shall smoke in any area designated as a no smoking area in accordance with division (B) of this section.

(E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.

Effective Date: 07-01-1997