You asked, with regard to laws banning smoking in dormitories, (1) which other states have enacted such a law, or have been trying to enact one; (2) if it never passed, why not; (3) what restrictions Connecticut's proposed legislation would have; and (4) why Connecticut's law has not passed in previous years. You also wanted to know the number of fatalities from smoking in dormitories.

SUMMARY

Connecticut's bill banning smoking in dormitories would prohibit students from smoking in dormitories of public colleges and universities except in designated smoking areas. A similar idea was proposed as a Senate amendment in 2000 and as a House bill in 2001. The House did not take up either bill. Rhode Island currently prohibits smoking in dormitories, and both Arizona and New York have addressed the idea in their current legislative sessions. Although smoking-related fires in dormitories have not caused any deaths in the United States in recent years, they have resulted in numerous civilian injuries and costly property damage.

CONNECTICUT LEGISLATION

HB 5290

Connecticut's bill in the 2002 session, sHB 5290, "An Act Concerning Smoking in Dormitories of Public Institutions of Higher Education," would remove the public college or university dormitory exemption from the ban on smoking in public buildings. Current law prohibits smoking in a building owned or leased and operated by the state or a political subdivision, but exempts from these provisions (1) correctional facilities, (2) dormitory rooms in public institutions of higher education, (3) psychiatric facilities, (4) public housing projects, and (5) classrooms where demonstration smoking is taking place as part of a medical or scientific experiment or lesson. The law also allows people to smoke in designated smoking areas in public buildings. If HB 5290 passes, it would prohibit students from smoking in the dormitories of the University of Connecticut and Connecticut State University systems except in designated smoking areas.

2001 Bill

In the 2001 session, the legislature considered sHB 5250, "An Act Concerning Smoking in Dormitories of Public Institutions of Higher Education. " This bill would have removed dormitories' current exemption from the ban on smoking in public buildings. Although the Education and Public Health committees favorably reported the bill, the House never took it up.

2000 Bill

In the 2000 session, the legislature considered sSB 463, "An Act Concerning College Dormitory Safety. " A proposed Senate amendment to this bill would have removed dormitories' current exemption from the ban on smoking in public buildings. Senator Brian McDermott made several arguments against this amendment. He said that most college students are over age 18, and therefore legally allowed to smoke. He argued that students rent space in a dorm as their living space for a year, and should be allowed to smoke in their own "home. " He suggested offering designated smoking areas, floors, or entire dormitories, rather than banning smoking entirely. Senator Eileen Daily also questioned the validity of the proponents' argument that the state should ban smoking in dormitories because of the fire danger it presents. She suggested that banning candles might be a better way to reduce dormitory fires.

The amendment passed in the Senate by a vote of 22 to 13. The bill was placed on the consent calendar and passed in the Senate. It was then transmitted to the House, which never took it up.

LEGISLATION IN OTHER STATES

Rhode Island

Rhode Island is the only state we found with a current law prohibiting smoking in dormitories. But it does not prohibit smoking in dormitories or other public areas "if the smoking is confined to areas separated from those used by the general public and identified by signs as smoking areas" (RIGL § 23-20. 6-2).

Arizona

Arizona's legislature introduced a bill during the 2001-02 session that would have extended current provisions banning smoking in government buildings to dormitories. But the Senate Education Committee chairman held the bill (did not report it out of committee) on January 31, 2002. The committee meeting minutes do not reflect a reason for this decision.

New York

New York's Assembly Bill 7934 would prohibit smoking in dormitories and other group residential facilities of public and private colleges and universities. But it would allow the building owner or manager to designate certain areas where smoking is permitted. The bill was first introduced in the 2001 session, where it was referred to the committees on Health, Codes, and Rules. It was carried over into the 2002 session, where it has been to the Health Committee and is presently in the Codes Committee. The legislature is in session until June 20, so New York's bill is still alive.

SMOKING-RELATED DORMITORY FIRE DEATHS

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there have been no smoking-related fire fatalities in dormitories. NFPA's 2002 report, "Structure Fires in Dormitory Properties - Statistical Analysis," shows no civilian deaths in the approximately 1,425 school, college, or university dormitory fires from all causes in every year between 1994 and 1998 (the most recent years for which comprehensive information is available). But these fires did result in an average of 58 injuries and

more than $ 6 million in direct property damage per year. And an average of 165 of these fires each year were caused by smoking, resulting in 8 civilian injuries and direct property damage of $ 346,1000 per year.

Smoking is the third leading cause of dormitory fires. It is the suspected cause of a May 1996 fire at a University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill fraternity house that killed five students. But in the January 2000 fire in a Seton Hall University dormitory in New Jersey in which three students died, smoking was ruled out as a cause. According to NFPA's report, most fatal fires occur in fraternity and sorority houses, rather than dormitories. We have enclosed a copy of the report for your reference.

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