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Residents want smoking ban in Chicks Beach

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Bill to ban smoking fails in House

Updated: Tuesday, 19 Feb 2013, 2:13 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 19 Feb 2013, 2:04 PM EST

Rachel West

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) - A bill to ban smoking in public places such as Chick’s Beach is now dead in the water.

Senate Bill No. 1253 , introduced by state senator Ralph Northam made it as far as the House’s Committee on General Laws on Feb. 6, but was left there Monday.

According to Virginia’s Legislative Information System, the bill failed in the committee.

The bill would have banned smoking in certain public places and allowed localities to ban smoking in parks, beaches and similar public areas.

Northam's legislative assistant Jay Ford told WAVY.com this was a grassroots effort by people like Donny Damon of Chick's Beach and it deserved to be voted on.

Damon spoke to the General Assembly in January. Ford said Damon drove to Richmond Tuesday expecting to testify on behalf of the bill and never got the chance.

Del. Chris Jones (R) of Suffolk is chairman of the Committee on General Laws.

The bill passed in the Senate on Feb. 4.

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