Smoke-Free Proposal Submitted | Video

Jessica Roose | 6/13/2012

The primary was just yesterday, but there`s another group already working on getting a measure on the November ballot. Smoke-Free North Dakota committee submitted a proposal to Secretary of State Al Jaeger calling for the prohibition of smoking in public places and worksites statewide.

Once he drafts a petition title, the sponsoring committee has until August 8th to collect more that 13,000 signatures.

"Being that this can be sometimes a pretty heated issue, I think there`s a lot of small communities where people are afraid to speak up about it. So going with a statewide measure and doing it on the ballot really let`s then voice their opinion without fear of any backlash," said Smoke-Free North Dakota Committee Chair Chelsey Matter.

Twenty-nine states have already passed similar laws.

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